The Platonic Love Theory
by The Shamy Shipper
Summary: 1900s. Sheldon and Amy have always supported each other since they were just kids and their friendship became love. However fate has separated them and now that they are reunited again, they will have to fight against everything and against everyone to be together. AU. OOC.
1. Chapter I

Hi folks, thank you for open my fanfic and give it a chance. I hope you like.

Note 1: I don't have reader beta so please forgive my errors written case find some.

Note 2: I created a folder on Pinterest with the clothes of Amy, and i'll adding more as chapters. Here is the link.

https/pin.it/szcg6r333nixbg

 **I don't own the main characters, but there are some in this fic I devised, I hope you enjoy them.**

Good read!

_

 **Chapter I**

Coopers and Fowlers were known throughout the city, but the family patriarchs had fame around the whole world.

George Cooper and Larry Fowler were the owners and rectors of the nation's leading physics university: National Institute of Physics.

Friends since childhood, the two had studied together and made great discoveries that revolutionized the world of science and exerted great influence on their respective children.

Amy Fowler and Sheldon Cooper were great friends from the moment of birth.

By fate or pure coincidence, they were born the same day, and as families were very friendly, birthdays were always made together, much to the despair of Missy, Sheldon's twin sister.

They were always the stars of birthdays. Their intelligence was unbeatable, and they seemed to speak a language of their own which no one else could comprehend. The two grew up together and the friendship grew stronger every day. One always protected the other, and was there when the other needed.

Both of them learned to read at the age of two and a half and since then the library of both houses has become the place where they liked to spend time. Soon they seemed to be insufficient, and at age five they accompanied their parents to the Institute, where they spent whole afternoons in the large library discussing physics.

Sometimes they would almost put the houses down trying to do crazy experiments they had read in the books.

At the age of seven, they almost set fire to the Fowlers' kitchen because they had discovered an innovative way to warm the baby bottle of Pamela, Amy's newborn sister. It was then that both parents decided that it would be better if they were enrolled in a School.

The school was very traditional and divided into two campuses, one for the girls and the other for the boys. They only met twice a week for dance classes and although they hated dancing they liked the lessons because it was the only time they could spend together during the week.

The first few weeks were terrible for both of them.

Amy was being chased by a girl for who She had done anything at all. One day that girl thought it would be funny to lock her in the cleaning cabinet. And without even realizing what was happening, Amy was pushed into the closet and listening to the door being locked from the outside she started screaming for them to open. She kept shouting for a while longer until she heard a huge bang of someone being thrown against the door and then a small, yet frightening little voice speaking something Amy could not understand.

When the door opened Amy was curled up in the corner of the closet crying and two girls revealed themselves with worried looks. Despite the difference in height both were blond and very beautiful. The taller one came in and crouched next to her with a look of empathy.

"Hey, are you okay?" She asked and Amy just shook her head. "I'm Penelope, but you can call me Penny, and this is my younger sister Bernadette." The last one opened a smile and waved at her.

"Thank you," Amy said and a sincere smile sprang to her lips.

"No need to thank you, Ramona thinks she can chase us all just because her father owns the School," Penny said as she stood up. "By the way, what's your name?"

"Amy." She lifted her head and looked in the direction of the two sisters. "Amy Farrah Fowler." She finished.

"Okay ... Amy, don't worry, Ramona won't bother you anymore. Now, come on, it's almost time for us to go to dance class." Penny reached out to help Amy get up.

Amy took the hand of her newest friend and the three girls exchanged smiles then they headed toward the courtyard where the dance classes were held.

When they arrived there they noticed that everyone was already in position listening carefully to the teacher explain the next steps. Amy felt someone touch her arm and turned to find a somewhat worried Sheldon.

"Sorry for the delay, that girl decided to tease me again and lock me in the cleaning cabinet." The minute the words came out of her mouth, Amy felt Sheldon grow more alarmed and before he could say anything she went on. "It's okay! She did not hurt me. Penny and Bernadette have assured me she will not bother me anymore."

Amy looked back and only then did Sheldon seem to notice the other two girls behind Amy. "Oh, so for what I see you've made friends."

"Yes, I have". Amy smiled sweetly. "Girls, this is Sheldon Cooper."

The sisters smiled and waved at him and at once two boys appeared behind Sheldon.

"Sheldon, where were you? We looked for you everywhere, we thought Kripke was on your feet again." Said a small boy who wore glasses.

"Kripke?" Penny asked. "Are you referring to Barry Kripke?"

"Yes, the son of the owner of the school, do you believe that he pursues everyone, especially the new students?" replied the other one with an odd little fringe.

"Yes, his sister does the same," Bernadette replied, and then the older sister completed.

"She was going to leave Amy locked in the cleaning cabinet." The taller one rolled her eyes in indignation.

The conversation between the six seemed to catch the attention of the teacher who chastised them and told each one to go and look for their partner.

Sheldon introduced his two friends, the brothers Leonard and Howard Hofstadter. And then the six of them got in pairs, Sheldon and Amy; Leonard and Penny, and Howard and Bernadette.

After that dance class the life of the six children was never the same again.

_

It was the day that Sheldon and Amy turned thirteen, sitting on the library floor at her home, reading the books they had earned as a birthday present, that they realized what they really felt for each other.

Amy was not at all worried about ruining the lilac dress, which her mother ordered especially for her birthday, she was absolutely immersed in the writing of Jane Austen, while Sheldon was lost in the adventures of Jules Verne. The two spent most afternoons in complete silence when they read things that were not related to science. It was a silent agreement that neither of them risked to break.

But that afternoon, almost at nightfall, a sigh from Amy completely out of Sheldon's attention that instantly stopped his reading and began to pay attention to her behavior.

She read it carefully and was so caught up in the novel that for a moment he thought she was going to get inside the book. He kept watching and when a tear trickled down Amy's face, he'd had enough.

"Amy, what is it?" She glanced up at him and watched him frown.

"Nothing. It was just the story that thrilled me." She said, wiping with the back of her hand the tears that kept flowing.

"If the novel makes you sad why keep reading?" He closed the book he was reading, mentally marking the page so he would not lose it later.

"You don't understand, Sheldon. I'm not sad, it's that ..." She looked up at the ceiling trying to find words that expressed what she was feeling, but none came "it's just beautiful, I mean their love," she explained seeing the confusion in his gaze.

"Oh," he seemed to ponder for a moment, and her attention turned again to the reading. But the shock of thefollowing question made her completely dismissed, "Do you like anyone, Amy?"

She was very intelligent and even if she was not, it did not take much thinking to understand what he was asking. But she decided that pretending don't understand was the best escape route.

"Of course," she said with conviction. He felt his heart stop for a moment, then she continued, "I like you, Missy, Leonard, Penny, my parents, your parents, Bern ...".

"Not like that," he interrupted, "I mean, in a romantic way."

Noting that she was not going to escape so easily, she marked the page she had stopped and closed the book.

"I guess that I do." She said looking at her hands on her lap.

"You just guess? You're not sure?" Amy just shook her head yes as she pressed her lips together. "How do we know we like someone?" seeing that the conversation was taking other paths she looked toward him.

"Well, the books I read always say that when you kiss someone you like, you feel butterflies in your stomach and your legs get weak. In some cases, the girl even lifts her foot slightly."

"So, would I have to kiss the girl to know if I like her or not?" She did not know if she liked the direction that conversation was taking, but she had to give him an answer, otherwise her feelings for him would be explicit.

"I think so, but if you feel like kissing her there's a good chance you're in love." She explained.

"Have you ever kissed someone, Amy?" The question caught her off guard. For this, she certainly did not expect, but decided to ignore the sweat sprouting in her hands and answer sincerely.

"No. And you know that, because I would have told you. I'm saving my first kiss for someone special," she took a deep breath and gathered all the count she had to return the question. "Have you ever?". If he thought she might have kissed someone without telling him, would he have done it? She needed to know.

"No," he shook his head and Amy let out the air she did not even know she was holding. Relieved she understood that the conversation was over, since moments passed and he did not say anything else, he just seemed to think. She was about to open the book again when Sheldon asked another question, by the way even more uncomfortable. "By chance, is this someone special you said you like?"

"I think so". She replied looking at the cover of the book on her lap.

"Why don't you tell him about your feelings?" Amy could sense some fear in his tone of voice.

"Because I'm afraid". She answered truthfully.

"Why would you be afraid?" He asked again, she felt that this would never end, but she had already answered so many uncomfortable things that she decided it was best to respond.

"Of being rejected, of feeling not reciprocal, of ... losing his friendship." At the last sentence their eyes met and he seemed to understand the message.

"He would be very dumb if he rejected you."

"You think so?" She questioned incredulously in her own ears.

"Of course you are, you're an incredible girl, Amy, I do not know any girl so smart and able to have an interesting conversation like you, and you're beautiful and ..."

"Do you think I'm beautiful?" She interrupted.

Sheldon's cheeks reached fifty shades of red as he realized what he had just said. His mind turned into a void of words and he just nodded. A shy smile appeared at the corner of Amy's lips and without realizing what she was doing she leaned in a few inches and he closed his eyes. And in the moment her lips touched his cheeks, it grew even redder.

"Thanks". She said and pulled away examining him for a few moments while he still kept his eyes closed and raised his hand up to the profuse cheek seeming to still absorb the moment. Long seconds later and he was still in the same position.

In those long seconds, a thousand things went through Amy's head, but only the thought that she might have made a mistake made her extremely worried and she began to panic.

Sheldon took a deep breath as he lowered his arm and then opened his eyes. When their gazes met he smiled contentedly and she, well, she smiled relieved.

"I felt it Amy" as the girl frowned mischievously, he added, "the butterflies."

The girl's eyes widened and the air seemed to be trapped in her lungs. The meaning of those words seemed to be pounding in her chest, and her next words came without her noticing.

"I felt them too."

He let himself be guided by the feeling, which he rarely did, and the two of them approached slowly, staring at each other's lips until only their noses touched, then their hands lifted and held each other's faces and they concentrated in their respective breaths.

"Amy?" He whispered.

"Yes". She replied trying to keep her control so that she did not faint with the intensity of the stares that came back to cross.

"Can I kiss you?".

She did not answer, just closed her eyes.

And the next thing Sheldon could feel were the butterflies flying wildly in his stomach as Amy crushed her lips against his and then he seemed to felt the sweet taste her lips had. He had never imagined what their taste would be.

It was hard to say how long it lasted, it could have only been seconds or even hours. That kiss lasted all eternity within the very existence.

Sheldon moved away slowly, pulling her lower lip between his. And even after the end of the kiss they stood in that position for a few moments of closed eyes, trying to absorb the emotions so new at that moment.

They opened their eyes at the same time and soon found themselves only a few inches away. When Amy broke the silence.

"That was nice". She said softly.

"Good". He agreed in the same tone.

The sound of the door made them separate quickly, trying to act as if nothing had happened.

Mary Cooper appeared cheerful looking for her son.

"Oh, Sheldon, there you are, dear! I was looking for you! Come on, it's late." Good humor was unmistakable in her voice, but when neither of the two teenagers sitting on the floor near the bookshelf said anything and just looked at her with an expression of surprise and guilt, Mary suspected something was wrong. "Something happened?".

"Not". Both said together in exasperation.

"Are you sure?". The older woman questioned her eyebrows.

"It's okay, Mom. Amy was just a little emotional about the novel she's reading." Sheldon tried to explain.

Although he sucked in lying, Sheldon found ways to omit truths and make it sound like an acceptable and completely true answer.

"Are you sure?" She looked in the direction of Amy who just nodded.

"There's nothing wrong, Aunt Mary, you can rest easy." The younger girl forced a slightly unconvincing smile, but that served to make Mary abandon her intention of finding out what was happening.

"Well, if everthing's fine, I think we can go now, Sheldon! It's getting late and you need to rest, after all tomorrow both If you have class." She nodded to him to get up and so he did.

"See you tomorrow in dance class?" He asked, and a timid, yet sincere, hopeful smile sprang to the lips of the boy who had just given his first kiss.

"I will be there". She smiled the same way, and at the same moment Mary understood what had happened. She had borne that same silly smile on her face when she and her husband kissed for the first time.

"Good night, Amy." Sheldon said after getting up with his newest book and headed for the door, where he stood next to her mother.

"Good night, Sheldon. Good night, Aunt Mary." She said opening the book again where she had stopped.

"Good night dear". And with that they walked out of the library and the door behind them closed. "Do not think that you deceive me, I know very well what happedned inside there." And with that she incrised the pace leaving behind a wide-eyed Sheldon.

That night, the Cooper family said goodbye as usual. And the promise to see each other the next day left Sheldon and Amy light-hearted.

But not everything in life is sweet as the kiss they first gave that night.

A tragedy that moved the entire town made Sheldon never come back to that school again.


	2. Chapter II

**I'd like to thank those who have favored and left their comment in the last chapter. I was very happy to see that you guys liked it.**

 **I was gonna update it only on Thursday, but I finished the chapter sooner and decided to post. Hope you like it.**

 **I've created a folder on the Pinterest with Amy's clothes, I left the link last chapter but it doesn't sems to work. If you want to check on it, my user is: flowerm227.**

Chapter II

Sheldon was alone in one of the huge rooms of the house where he lived playing a sad melody on the piano. Anyone who was fortunate enough to see him playing knew that only joyful concerts were heard in that house when the boy volunteered to play.

It was the most beautiful thing to see. It was as if the music were a part of him, and nothing else mattered as his sapphire eyes focused on the instrument's keys. Whoever had seen him play before, would feel nothing less than a great sadness watching such a pitiful scene.

At least, that was exactly how Amy felt when she found him there, with a heavy expression on his face and a distant gaze, as if searching for something with the last hope left.

No one could tell how it happened, or what motivated the crime, after all during the assault no one had reacted. But George Cooper had been shot in the chest and couldn't resist.

The whole city stopped to cry and pay their respects. Everyone was absolutely devastated by the tragedy. But Mary, Sheldon, Missy and George Jr would carry forever the tragic image of that night that had begun so merrily.

The girl in the black dress standing in the doorway took a few light steps toward the young pianist who wore a black suit which he used to go to the Sunday service at his mother's insistence. When she stood behind him, she placed her right hand on his shoulder, he then stopped playing for a few moments and stepped aside, giving her space so that she could sit next to him.

She sat up and when he resumed his task she rested her head on his left shoulder, letting herself get carried away by the sound until it was over.

After the end of the last note he took a deep breath and rested his head on hers. And then in total silence they consumed themselves with their own thoughts for long moments, and Amy could feel some agitation from Sheldon at first, but soon he seemed to calm down and she wondered the best way to begin that sore conversation.

"I was worried. You said you were just going to take a breath and didn't come back." She ventured.

"I just needed to be alone, I guess." There was a hesitation in his voice, but Amy knew the reason well, so she decided to let him talk when he felt comfortable. After all, after years of cohabitation she had learned that Sheldon was made of layers and only when he felt comfortable enough did he let the layers be removed one by one.

"I know. It's why I didn't go after you before, but I could not stop worrying." She laid a hand on his right shoulder to try to comfort him.

"I'm here, aren't I? No need to worry." The emptiness in his tone was crisp, yet she knew he was not being rude, she also knew he had trouble dealing with emotions.

"I know". She snuggled closer to him for comfort. And the silence was contemplated for a few more minutes.

"Where are my mother and my siblings?" He asked.

"At my home, along with the Hofstadters and the Wilsons. Your mother thought maybe I'd better see you." She lifted her head to face him, but he just stared at the piano keys as a tear trickled down his face. Then another came and so his sapphire pools began to overflow.

"I couldn't handle the farewell, Amy." He tried to say between sobs. "It would be too much for me to have to say goodbye and see him buried." And there all the layers went dawn. They tumbled along with all the tears that flowed, releasing all the pain on his heart.

"I understand, I would feel the same if it was my father." She hugged him, trying to comfort him, and he returned, burying his face in her neck.

"I wish I was not such a coward." He murmured still sobbing.

"You're no coward, Sheldon." She slid her palm up and down serenely on his back trying to make him more comfortable.

"Of course I am, my father was killed in front of me and I was not able to do anything." It was palpable the fragility and guilt in the convicting words he uttered after leaning the side of his head on her shoulder.

"That doesn't make you a coward. The man was armed, Sheldon, maybe if you had reacted it would have been worse". Amy tried once more.

"I don't see how it could have gotten worse." He answered before squeeze the hug.

"What if you had died too? Or your mother? Or one of your siblings?" Amy tried to put some sense into his mind.

"Yeah, I think you're right, but ... anyway ... I ... I still can not settle." He pulled away from her and she noticed that the tears had stopped flowing even though his face was still wet.

"Neither do I, but some things do not ask permission to happen." She pulled the handkerchief out of the pocket of his jacket and began to wipe his face as he seemed to reflect on her words.

He just looked down without knowing what else to say. The loss was still very recent and the boy very attached to his father. She straightened her posture and lifted her hand toward his chin, making him stare at her.

"Sheldon, your father may not be here among us any more, but there is a place where no one can ever take him out." She lowered her arm and rested her hand open tenderly on the place his heart would be located "here" she said in a sigh and looked into his eyes. Almost like a reflection, he put his hand over hers and held it tight.

He leaned down a little and placed a quick kiss on Amy's cheek, who melted because of the unexpected attitude. When he pulled away, he said, "I think you're right. You're always right."

The girl smiled shyly and he returned, then he placed his arm around her and asked.

"Sing to me? I like to hear you singing."

"And what should I sing?"

"Sing what your heart asks for."

Amy placed her hands on the keys of the piano and as soon as the first notes were played her voice followed in a synchronized rhythm intoning the first verses of the song. After the end of the melody, another succeeded and then others and the notion of time was completely lost.

A few hours after nightfall, Mary appeared to tell Amy that her parents were worried and asked Junior to accompany her home. The girl then got up, and the two frides promised to see each other the next day. She passed by Mary and wished her good night. And with that she left.

Mary sat down next to her son and hugged him, he returned the hug and the comfort they found in each other was transcendental.

"I don't really know what I'd do to you if I didn't have Amy to help me understand how you feel." She confessed.

"I don't know what I would do without her, either." He smiled and Mary was finally able to smile on that dark and sad day. But something even more unexpected happened that night and the mother felt betrayed by her ears when the son spoke again. "I love you, mom".

"I love you too, son." She sighed.

"I wish I could have told daddy the same thing before he died." Sadness and regret were evident in his tone of voice and Mary's heart was broken in pieces.

"He knew it, dear". She said.

XXX

A week had passed since that fateful day. The atmosphere was still sad and mourning in the Coopers mansion. Missy and George just left the room for their meals, and Sheldon did not even for that. After the third day and all the imaginable and unimaginable attempts to get him out of there, Mary thought it best to call the one person she knew had powers and influences on her son.

Mary called Amy for lunch and asked the girl to try to get him out of his room. The girl was willing to help, and after a long forty-minute attempt, Sheldon came out holding Amy's hand, with a swollen, red face typical of who had been crying.

After that day, he left the house in the morning and only came at dinner time. He would most likely be with Amy in the library discussing physics or just reading other books to distract himself. But that didn't really matter, what mattered was that the boy's expression and behavior were much better and Mary thanked God for it.

And thanked Amy too.

On the afternoon of that seventh day, she was sitting sipping her tea when the bell rang. As she opened the door, she turned pale in front of the men in a gray suit, a black hat, and a paste of the same color in one hand. The expression he carried was not as pitiful as all the other's people she had opened the door for the last seven days. It was impossible to say what that expression carried, but it certainly didn't announce good news.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Cooper." The stern-faced man said.

"Mr. Kripke, how can I help you?" She asked sharply.

"I have serious issues to discuss with you and your eldest son about your deceased husband's business." Mary's heart squeezed at the same moment, indicating a bad feeling.

"Oh, of course, please come in." She said as she opened the door and gave him passage into the room.

"Excuse me". He said as he entered and followed her into the living room. "George Jr is there?" He questioned

"Yes, I'm going to call him, please, sit down and make yourself confortable". And with that she went up the stairs leaving him alone.

Her real desire was to send him out, yet she knew that something very serious should be happening. Owen Kripke would not dare show up after everything he'd done, would he?

The mere presence of that man brought the prelude that something very bad would happen. And the Cooper matriarch knew this from experience. She had known him since her youth and did not keep a single good memory that could prove otherwise.

For many years she and her husband avoided him as much as they could. Until Katherine, a childhood friend of Mary decided to marry him.

They attended the wedding and after that the two best friends never spoke again. A few months later Mary and George were married, and she soon got pregnant. To everyone's surprise, two months later Katherine announced her own pregnancy as well. And a few years later when Mary discovered that she was pregnant for the second time, it did not take long, and so did her former friend.

But Katherine was not lucky and died giving birth to a girl.

Years had passed since then, and everyone felt that everything was in order, when to the shock of Mary and George, the three children born the same day arrived telling that a much older boy called Barry kripke and his younger sister Ramona were chasing Sheldon and Amy inside the school. And the mother obviously feared for her son and his friend. Was the story bound to repeat itself?

Not knowing the answer to her question, she decided to wait and see how things would go. A few weeks later the children arrived announcing that they had made other friends. The Hofstadter brothers were the children of a professor at the Institute, and the Wilson sisters were the delegates' daughters who had studied with George and Larry during their youth. Since then, little had been heard about the siblings upseting them again. And Mary thought she would never have to deal with that miserable man again.

Until now.

She called her son and together they went downstairs. Even though he was the eldest, Junior did not even know the least detail about the past, and his mother thought it might be best to leave it that way.

"Mr. Kripke." The boy said holding out his hand and Owen Kripke stood up to the greeting, holding the boy's hand tightly.

"Mr. Cooper, I'm sorry for your loss." The disguised tone did not go past Mary, but Junior did not seem to notice.

"Thank you". So the three of them sat down so that mother and son stood facing the man. "Did my mother say you have serious business with us?"

"Yes, unfortunately!". Mary watched closely the expressions and tone the man had uttered each sentence, and her stomach twisted every time he opened his mouth.

"Is it serious?" The boy asked worriedly.

"I'd like to say the opposite, but I'm afraid it will." He was there to torture Mary, and she knew it.

"What happened?". She asked in agony in a desperate attempt to end the suspense.

"Well, Mrs. Cooper, I do not know if your late husband used to talk about his, business with you?" He had noticed her expression, and was delighting himself internally with his despair. That was certainly making him very comfortable.

"No, we didn't have that habit." She admitted still uncertain of the course of that conversation.

"Mr. Cooper?" He turned to the boy.

"Well, I was about to start working with him as an apprentice. Unfortunately, I did not have the opportunity to discuss such matters with him." The boy's sadness was a treat for the man.

"I see, I'd like to say once again that I'm sorry."

"Mr. Kripke, you're worrying me. Is there something we should know?" She questioned uneasily.

"Well, I'll get right to the point." He said before taking a deep breath.

"Well, go on." She demanded.

"A few years ago, the Institute was going through a period of crisis, it seems to me that they needed to do a very important experiment and yet there was no money, Dr Cooper then got a loan." He paused for a long time, adding to Mary's torture.

"What do YouTube mean?" George asked.

"Unfortunately, the experiment went awry, Dr. Cooper was unable to repay the loan on time and the debt increased. He had to mortgage some properties, and signed a document pledging some other goods he owned." Mary felt her legs weaken instantly.

"I'm not liking this conversation." She folded her arms and tried to remain calm.

"Believe me, it's not easy for me either." _Cynic_ , she thought, but other words came out of her mouth.

"I believe". The sarcasm went unnoticed by her son, but not by Kripke.

"He then had to take a very high loan from my bank ... and the deadline for payment ... ends next week." He said slowly, absorbing the impact each word had on the widow who was now staring at him in disbelief.

"What the value?". The boy asked, and the man opened the folder by pulling out some documents and held them out in Mary's direction.

She hesitated for a moment as the papers hung in the air. Slowly she caught them and glanced over the document, the moment she located the value of the loan she almost had a heart attack. "Oh my God, I do not know if we can afford that." She exclaimed more to herself than to the man.

"Have you talked to your accountant yet?" The cynical arching on his eyebrows showed that he already knew the answer.

"We were waiting for the mourning to pass before we checked on this issue." The widow said visibly irritated by his lack of consideration.

"I understand". Kripke said.

"What happens if we can not pay the debt?" Junior asked, evidencing the concern in his voice.

"I don't want to do that, Mr. Cooper, but I'll have to take the assets that were given as warranty, but it will still not cover the debt." The coldness in his voice was frightening.

"Lord Jesus, what shall we do?" She exclaimed covering her face with her hands and desperation running through her veins, along with the pain and anger of that man sitting only a few feet away.

"I am sorry to have to give such bad news after this tragedy, but unfortunately there is nothing I can do. I talked to my partners about the debt being forgiven, but they are irreducible."

"Have you documented what the goods he gave as warranty?" The boy asked.

"Of course it's all in those papers that I gave you, I suggest contacting your accountant soon, Mrs. Cooper." Kripke stood up indicating there was nothing more to be said.

"I'll. Thank you for coming up here and let us know." She said without looking at him, and the son got up too, but Mary made no move.

"Believe me, I'm not happy to have to deliver the bad news." False, she thought. This man was a pit of cynicism, and every word out of his mouth carried the weight of the evil he had in his heart.

"Well, we'll call the accountant and try to work this out as best we can. Have a good afternoon, Mr. Kripke." Junior said and held out his hand and the two men were pleased.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Cooper."

"I'll walk you to the door." The boy said indicating the exit.

Kripke put his hat back on. The look of visible concern on the widow's face left him entranced and he smiled inside as he made his way to the exit.

The new widow was consuming herself inside. Of all the people he was certainly the last of whom she would like to hear such bad news. But the question now was, what the hell was she going to do to pay off the debt?

XXX

Mary did not sleep that night. She asked the eldest son not to tell the twins anything until a solution was arranged and they could stay in peace.

She knew Larry would not hesitate to help, but it was not fair for him to handle a mistake that was not his. No, she would have to do it herself.

And so she did.

A telegram the next day and an answer a few hours later and everything was settled. Her only uncertainty was how his little genius would react to that solution. She could expect anything, her little boy was a Pandora's box and could not deal with feelings

She gathered her children into the living room and cautiously gave them the news. They all sat still as she waited for an answer. None came. She kept talking and trying to justify herself and still nothing. When tears began to stream down her face, she felt arms around her and went into a state of stupor when she realized that those arms were Sheldon's.

After a few moments and a lot of sobs, he told her that everything would be all right, and that he would be there to support her whatever happened. But he had a condition, and after listening carefully the mother agreed.

She'd arranged dinner at the Fowler's that night, and she'd decided it would be the best time to break the news.

"I do not understand! George never told me anything about putting the goods as warranty." Larry exclaimed, puzzled as he paced the living room where everyone was gathered.

"Believe me, we're as surprised as you are." Mary assured him.

"But why would he do that? He told me that he had settled everything. I didn't realize that the institute's debt was so Big". He kept walking nervously and his wife was more and more certain that he would make a hole in the ground

"Well, George was the one who took care of the financial part along with the accountant, maybe he thought he could repay the debt and did not want to worry." Mrs. Fowler said worried about her husband's uneasiness.

"I do not know, I still find it very strange. George always shared the problems, if there was something wrong he would have said it." Larry said as he continued to walk with one hand on his chin.

"Unfortunately, he did not say, and here we are with this huge debt." Mary exposed.

"Mary, do not worry." Larry said as he sat on the arm of the couch and waved his hand. "I can sell some of my assets. We'll help you." He tried to smile but the look on the widow's face told him that she had already arranged a solution but that he would not be comfortable with it.

"No, Larry, George created this situation, it's not fair that you pay for it now." That statement served to confirm his hypothesis.

"But he did it for the good of the Institute. What is not fair is that I do nothing to help you." He did not know what she had in mind, but would do anything in his power to make her change her mind.

"Junior and I intend to sell the house. If you are willing to buy it will be of great help." Was it just that? But of course he would help.

"Of course, Mary, I'll do everything in my power to help you and the kids." Larry assured her.

"You don't know how much it comforts me to hear that." She sighed in relief.

"I'll buy it and put it in the name of your children, so you can continue to live in it without the slightest problem." He said believing that was all.

"No need, Larry." He frowned. And they all looked at her. Everyone but Amy. She turned her attention to Sheldon who was sitting between his two siblings on the other couch. She was trying to decipher his behavior. The boy was far away, and the sadness in his gaze was palpable.

"Why not?". The girl asked after a few minutes of silence.

"I called my parents this week. It's all settled, my dear." She tried to soften her tone as if trying to comfort her and she didn't like it at all.

"What do you mean, Aunt Mary?" The girl's hint of desperation left them all alarmed. Mary then tried the best way to break the news, even though she knew Amy's heart would break into a thousand pieces anyway.

"I do not want you to get upset with me," her tone was gentle and careful, and that served to distress Amy even more, "but we are going to move to Texas as soon as I can work this out. We're going to live with my parents, honey. "

Amy looked from Mary to Sheldon, but the boy was bowed, not having the courage to stare at her and to see in her eyes the pain, which ran through tears on her face. "What, but why?"

"Amy, my love, I won't be able to stay here, I'll have to sell everything we still own. My father has business there, farms and some other ventures. Junior Will learn with the grandfather what he didn't have time to learn with his father". She knew that no argument she used would lessen the tension of the girl who was now crying without ceasing.

"But I can teach him. I have some business too." Larry tried to say.

"I know, Larry, but it's not fair, you have two daughters, you owe it to them, and besides, we do not want to be a burden because of George." She said.

"I have enough business to share between them and your children and there would still be money left." Amy watched the conversation closely. Her heart clenched in her chest each time they opened their mouths.

"Larry, please do not insist, I've made my decision." Mary said firmly.

"All right, Mary, I will respect your will, but you know you can count on me." He gave up after seeing that the decision was made and there was nothing else he could do.

"How's everything okay?" The girl screamed, scaring everyone in the room, including her sister who played absentmindedly on the coffee table.

"Amy ..." Her mother tried to berate her but she just ignored her and continued.

"It's not okay, you just go, and God knows when you'll be back." She stood up and raised her hands roughly to her forehead pacing exactly the way her father was doing a few minutes ago.

Mary got up and reached the girl, lowering her arms against her body and holding them tenderly, trying to calm her down. And just when Amy looked at her, she continued, "Honey, we know how much you and Sheldon are attached to each other, but we've talked, and Sheldon and I have made a deal." A wisp of hope shone in the emerald eyes that had once been so desperate.

"What os it?". She asked visibly calmer, and Mary gently wiped away the tears that insisted on falling.

"Well, for this to work out I need Larry to agree." She turned her gaze to him.

"I'm listening". And he nodded. Before moving on, Mary sat down and pulled Amy to sit beside her, wrapping one arm around her.

"Sheldon?" The mother nodded so that her son would explain what would happen.

"Well, we all know that I am the only one of the three children who cares about learning and science more than anything else." He leaned forward looking at Amy and then at Larry.

"Yes, we do." Mrs. Fowler said encouraging him to continue.

"Well, I want to come back when I'm eighteen, so I can complete my studies and work at the institute. If that's all right for you, Uncle Larry." No one had ever seen Sheldon so serious about anything.

"So you'll be gone for almost five years?" Amy questioned and Mary felt the girl tense again under her embrace.

Mother and son exchanged glances and a brief silence settled. The widow just sighed trying to gain courage, "Yes, dear, that's the best I can do, that's the only thing I can not take away from him."

"It's not just from him that you're taking, it's from me too!" She cried uncontrollably at the end of the sentence and buried her face in her hands sobbing. "You can not leave, and if something goes wrong and you never come back?" She tried to say with the trace of voice.

"Amy, my dear, please calm down." Mary hugged her tightly.

What only Missy and George noticed at that moment was that Sheldon was crying too. Silently. Feeling the same pain Amy was feeling. The siblings, who were sitting on either side of him, placed their hands on the hands of the brother resting on his lap.

"Sheldon will come back and have all my support to continue his studies. It is his right, his father gave blood and sweat to found the Institute, nothing more just that he is entitled to." Larry said trying to calm his still crying daughter.

"Thank you, Larry." Mary said without releasing the girl in her arms.

"You can not go away, you can not leave us." Amy exclaimed raising her face and watching Sheldon cry too.

"Amy!" Her mother said trying to keep the girl quiet.

"It is not possible that I am the only one who is seeing what is happening."

If he was so sure it would be only five years, why was he crying? The confusion in her head was too much at that moment. She felt small, lost and deceived. It was simply too much. She disengaged herself from Mary's embrace and with that she ran upstairs, locked herself in her bedroom and wept for hours until she fell asleep.

XXX

Lying on her back in her bed and exhausted by the tears that had been pouring down for hours, Amy stared at the ceiling. The light from the moon and stars permeated the glass of the porch door and reflected on her face, causing the emeralds in his eyes to glow vigorously like freshly cut jewels.

Though her breathing and the serene way she was at that moment indicated peace, her heart was a war zone. Her mind wandered through scenarios that looked more like nightmares. Fear and insecurity filled her with apprehension.

What would she do without her friend? What if he forgot her? What if he was not the same again when he returned?

She would surely die if any of these things happened. She was sure of that. And she would never forgive him if he let any of these things happen.

The noise from the balcony door went unnoticed, such was the confusion in the head of the girl who had just discovered love and was already being deprived of it.

But the noise coming from the outside persisted and the tone increased steadily and insistently. When Amy curiously looked away to see what the commotion was about, the reason for her unease was on the other side of the wooden and glass frame, staring with the most piercing eyes she had ever seen. But she did not move to attend him, and he insisted.

Knock, Knock, Knock "Amy".

Knock, Knock, Knock "Amy".

Knock, Knock, Knock "Amy".

Seeing that he would not stop until he was attended to, she slipped out of the bed already dressed in her pajamas and and with barefoot and reached the porch door, turning the key sharply in the lock. The click of the doorknob indicated that the door was unlocked and Amy just turned her back and took a few steps until she stopped at the foot of the bed. Sheldon came in and closed the door behind him again before following her into the room.

"What you want?" She questioned it bluntly.

"I could not sleep". The boy replied.

"It's past midnight, you should be in your house. Where did you ever see yourself leaving home at a time like this?" Amy scolded him as coldly as she could.

"Amy, please don't treat me like that." He walked the short distance to her and raised his hands to touch her shoulders, but gave up in the middle of the way.

"And how do you want me to treat you?" She turned to face him and continued "knowing that you agreed to leave and leave me?" She spared no accusations.

"You know it's not being easy for me either." He responded defensively.

"Apart from the fact that you spent two weeks at your grandparents' house, we never spent more than three days away from each other, Sheldon." The affliction weighed on every word the girl uttered.

"I know. I hated that trip." The memory made the boy's eyes flutter.

"And yet you're willing to go and spend five years away." She raised her hands in front of him, trying to emphasize the point.

"Amy, that was the best deal I got from my mother." He folded his arms. "You know it's not up to me."

"I know, it's ...". She stopped looking sideways, trying to get the courage that seemed to be hidden in the pictures on the wall or on some of the furniture.

"Is that?". He asked after a long time.

"Sheldon, I like you." She admitted after looking him in the eye again, but then regretted it when she saw the look of surprise on his face. Had not it been clear that she had feelings for him after the kiss they had given in the library a few weeks ago? She looked for the best way to fix the situation before he said anything. "You're my best friend. I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too." He said opening his arms and extending them in front of him. She promptly accepted the invitation to hug. "You've been my best friend since I was born, Amy, and besides, it's not like you're going to be alone, you have your sister, Penny and Bernadette, and even Leonard and Howard." She disengaged herself from the embrace and lay back on the bed, leaving half of her legs out. He followed her and lay down in the same position, reaching with his right hand reaching to her left. They intertwined their fingers and squeezed hard.

"I love my sister, but she's still very young. Penny and Bernadette were taken by the hormones and can only talk about girlish things. And Howard and Leonard will probably prefer to befriend other boys and do things only boys can do, which obviously excludes me. " She exclaimed with a heavy, irritated sigh.

"Hey, you know it's not true, they like you and they will not leave you alone, I'll make them promise me that." He said looking into her eyes.

"Still, Sheldon." She turned to face the ceiling again. "Even if they do not leave me alone, they are intelligent, but most of the time they can not understand the things I say, just you." The last sentence came out as a sigh.

"Amy, tell me, what's the real deal here?" He had already noticed that it was not just fear of being alone, or of not being able to have an intelligent conversation with someone, or even the fact that she would miss him. There was something about her behavior that was strange. It always cost her to act rationally and yet at that moment she just didn't make sense.

Amy considered the words for a moment. She did not want to look sticky or insecure, but there was no other way to say that, so she took a deep breath and gathered all the courage she had. "What if you forget me, Sheldon? What if you meet a smarter, more interesting girl and decide you do not need me anymore?"

"Oh, Amy." Sheldon laughed wryly and turned sideways, as their gazes met again, he placed a hand on her face, caressing her cheek with his thumb. "Do you think I'm not afraid of a boy with much less trouble and quirks than me show up and you forget me?"

"I like your quirks." She smiled calmly. And a tiniest bit of peace began to cease the war in his heart. "And besides," she continued, "I would have to suffer from a very serious illness or die to forget you."

"You see, I feel the same way about you." He continued to stroke her face and she closed her eyes.

"I'm going to miss you, so badly." She whispered.

"I'm going to miss you, too, but we can exchange letters, telegrams and call each other, of course as soon as I get a phone, progress has not yet reached the place where my grandparents live." She laughed genuinely and lay down on her back. Sheldon continued in the same position just watching.

"It's not going to be the same thing as having you around." She said.

"No, but until they inventing a technology capable of transmitting images in real time to facilitate communication this is the best we have." He argued.

"I hope this day comes soon."

"But I fear it is still very far from our reach."

"Perhaps, I believe it will be a technology invented only at the end of this century, but will become available only in the early twenty-first century."

"We'll have to live there to find out."

"If I write a book talking about my expectations and they're right, I'll certainly be very famous." An ambitious smile settled on her lips.

"Certainly". He laughed. "But we will still be famous together. I already see the headlines in the newspapers announcing the discoveries of the most famous couple in the scientific world." He knew he had risked it, but he would not go back.

"Couple?". She asked in surprise and turned to face him.

"Yes, I hope that as soon as I get back, we can get married." He bluntly announced his intentions.

"Are you asking me to marry you?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Yes I am". Sheldon said.

"Why, Mr. Cooper, do you call it a marriage proposal?" She pretended indignation.

"You're right, it's not right to a propose a lady this way."

He then got up from the bed, not letting go of her hand and she sat down to observe what he would do next. To Amy's astonishment he knelt on the floor in front of her and she could barely believe the scene. Looking into her eyes and with a conviction the girl had never seen in him, not even when he defended some scientific theory with the greatest vehemence, he let the words out of his mouth.

"So, Amy Farrah Fowler, will you marry me?" The world stopped at that moment and the girl's heart failed by some beating. When he came back to reality a small smirk appeared in the corner of her mouth.

"I accept, but I have one condition." She caught him off guard.

"And which one is it?". He asked suspiciously.

"When we make our first discovery and publish our first roles, my name will go first, then yours." Sheldon should have guessed.

"Look, don't I have a potential adept at the suffragist movement in front of me." He used sarcasm in his tone without even realizing it.

"That's it or not at all." She said firmly.

"There's nothing I wouldn't do for you." They both smiled genuinely at each other.

The happiness and beauty of that moment belonged only to them. No one would be able to erase such beautiful memories. No one could ever separate them, for nothing. Neither time nor distance. They were sure of that. And in that tiny fraction of time, where gazes met and exhaled love, in its simplest and platonic form, a pure love, which nothing more needed to exist, a force beyond physicality attracted them like a magnet and iron in the direction of one another, and their lips met in the middle on the way, tracing a current of electricity between the attracted bodies.

That simple kiss lasted a few seconds, but its intensity could not be described, or even measured. Not even in the wide, almost black eyes they had as they stared at each other without a word.

Sheldon was not quite sure what he was doing when his thumb reached up to her lips. _So soft, so sweet,_ he thought. And drawn by them, the boy rested his other hand on the bed and propelled the body up to face Amy who closed his eyes at the feel of his breath so close to her. He closed the short distance, and took those lips to himself, moving slowly and gently over them.

Without breaking the contact, she leaned back slightly, supporting one of the forearms on the bed, while her other hand stroked the hair at the nape of his neck, making him shiver. He followed her, carefully leaning his body over hers and tangled his hand between her dark brown strands. As she rested her entire body on the bed, his hand resting on it moves to her waist, lightly massaging her soft skin against the thin fabric of her nightgown. She moaned softly, opening her lips slightly, thus giving way to the tongue that caressed them tenderly.

Sheldon felt his member throb in his pants and startled. What was happening to his body? He'd felt it before, but never in the presence of anyone, much less Amy. His brother had already told him that it was absolutely normal, and if one day he liked a girl, that would happen.

Reluctantly against any desire to continue, he pulled away slowly. Both breaths were heavy and he couldn't face her. But she was wide-eyed and saw the way he was cracking his chin, fighting for control.

"We can stop." She said. "I don't think any of us know what we're doing." He just shook his head and lay down next to her, still with his eyes closed, as she stared at the ceiling trying to understand what had happened, and what she had felt against her thigh.

They remained in that position for a few minutes. Only when the pulsation between his legs calmed did he remember the objects that were in his pocket.

"Well, future Mrs. Cooper ...". He said as he sat on the bed, running one leg under the other and turning in Amy's direction.

"Doctor Fowler Cooper." She corrected him by sitting in the same position, turning to him.

"Well, future Dr. Fowler Cooper, I have something for you, or rather for us!"

He slipped his hands into his pocket and, upon withdrawing, revealed a small red velvet saddlebag, and handed it to her hand. Amy undid the delicate lace and turned the bag upside down, reaching out to hold the contents.

She forgot how to breathe when she saw a pair of silver rings, each tied to a chain of the same material.

"My God, Sheldon, they're beautiful!" She exclaimed in a whisper and he smiled.

"I knew you would like it. I left them on the chain, because I thought maybe our parents would be alarmed if they saw us wearing it, so it's easier to hide." She just nodded and kept looking at the objects in her hand, until one a doubt occurred to her.

"Where did you get the money to buy them?" She asked this time looking at him.

"I had some savings and Junior helped me up to the jewelry store." His hand rested on her face to assure how real his next sentences were. "I wanted you to know that I really like you, and that my feelings are serious."

"I didn't doubt it for a second." She smiled, letting a tear roll.

He picked up the chain that had the smaller ring and lifted up to her eyes. "May I?" He asked. She nodded and turned around holding her hair to ease the task. Sheldon slipped the object around her neck and screwed it around. "Done". He said as he finished.

She turned, watching the ring now suspended by the chain around her neck. "My turn". She said and did not even expect him to turn around before he noticed that the object was already hanging from his neck.

"You are fast". Sheldon noted.

"Practice". She blinked with one eye.

"I must go, it's late. My mother has now decided to go to the rooms to check on us at night." He said.

"I think she must be worried about you after everything that has happened." Amy considered with a distant look, suddenly remembering all the events since the night of the birthday.

"Probably, but I'd better go, I think she'll be furious if she find out that the pillows in the closet are lying on my bed instead of me." She laughed as they got up. Amy followed him to the porch, opening the door and heading out.

Sheldon sat down on the balcony and swung his legs back, keeping his arms as suport. "Take care on the way down, Romeo." Amy joked.

"Please, do not force me to declare a love poem to you, my sweet Juliet." He scoffed imitating the performance of the character of the novel that not long ago he had watched in the theater.

"Stop that, Sheldon." She laughed inside but still afraid he might get hurt on the way down.

"Good dreams, Amy." He said before he walked down the steps that supported the creeper on the wall, and jumped, running quickly toward his house.

XXX

 **A/N: hope you don't hate me now. I'll be back soon.**


	3. Chapter III

**Really, you have no idea how happy I am with your feedback. Seriously, my smile gets bigger with every comment I read. I had the idea of this fanfic for more than a year and even started to write, but an accident happened and I ended up losing everything I had written. On the one hand this is good, because although the idea is the same I decided to tell it another way and honestly I think it is much better.** **I noticed that you are really enjoying George and the way he is acting, so I think you will love what I have prepared for this chapter (wink here).**

 **I hope you like this chapter because I wrote it with great affection.**

 **Good reading 3**

 **XXX**

 **Chapter III**

"So you and Amy already kissed?" Leonard asked studying his next move in the game.

The boys were sitting around the coffee table in the living room of Sheldon's house playing chess for some time now. Well, Sheldon and Leonard were playing; Howard only watched after he'd lose to Sheldon three times in a row.

"Yes". Sheldon replied as he moved his tower five houses to the right.

"When you say that you mean a real kiss, right? I mean, kiss in the mouth, just like moms and dads do?" Howard questioned as he watched the game, still incredulous in what he was hearing his friend say.

"Yes, twice." He kept his face in his hand as he studied Leonard moving one of the bishops.

"Two? The most I got from Bernadette was a kiss on the cheek." He was certainly very indignant. Now he would be the guy who gave the first kiss after Sheldon Cooper.

"Look at that, my big brother is going to give the first kiss after me." Leonard smirked as he saw his brother's despair.

"Less Leonard. Now, Sheldon," he said upon returning to his friend, "tell us how it was?" There was a certain trace of malice on Howard's face that had left Sheldon with some discomfort. He however decided to ignore and respond...

 **XXX**

"It was amazing!" Amy responded throwing herself on the bed. "I never expected kissing to be so good!" The passion in the girl's eyes was unmistakable.

"Howard keeps asking me for kisses, but I'm still scared." Bernadette confessed shyly as she brushed the long hair with her hairbrush.

"A kiss doesn't kill, Bernadette," Penny said. "You just have to be careful about what the boys have in their pants." She concluded before returning to the task of drying the red nail polish that had just been passed over the fingernails.

"Mom always tells me this, but after all, what do the boys have in their pants?" Amy sat back down on the bed facing the three friends and waiting for an answer.

"Only married women know." Missy answered. "But I heard they use it to make babies."

"Is that what I felt against my leg the other night?" Her eyes widened in alarm.

"Probably". Penny replied with a mischievous grin.

 **XXX**

"Junior told me girls hide something under their skirts. I do not know what it is, but it looks like they have to hide it to preserve their honor." Sheldon continued his watchful movements in the game, calculating how much more would be needed to put Leonard in a checkmate position.

"Don't be stupid!" Howard exclaimed annoyed. "Why would the girls hide their honor under their skirts?" He questioned as if that were the stupidest thing he'd ever heard.

"I've heard about that," Leonard intervened. "It seems that only after marriage do the girls reveal what they hide so modestly." He finished before moving the horse he still had in the game.

"Well, that won't be a problem. I asked Amy to marry me." He threw the bomb quietly as he studied his next move as if he had said nothing.

"You what?" The two brothers exclaimed at the same time with wide eyes.

 **XXX**

"He asked you to marry him?!" The two sisters asked wide-eyed as Missy laughed inwardly at the situation.

The morning after the propose she was walking down the boys' room corridor when she heard Sheldon and Georgie talking. The girl couldn't hold back the surprise the moment she heard her twin saying that he had asked Amy to marry him. But after a few minutes she thought that it was expected. Sheldon and Amy were too close and even a blind could see how much they liked each other. Of course that a marriage proposal at their age was something no one expected, but they would not even marry so soon; what they did was more like a promise to be together.

"Yes, with an engagement ring and everything." Amy pulled the chain from inside the collar of her dress to show the ring.

"And you said yes?" Bernadette asked in amazement.

"Yes, I did!" She replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"And then?" From the malicious tone of Missy the three girls suspected that she knew something. But she continued to stare at Amy with a contorted smile and one eyebrow arched, waiting for more details.

"Well then we kissed, and I felt that thing against my leg." As she reached the end of the sentence her cheeks turned redder than the color of Penny's enamel, and she shifted uncomfortably on the bed.

"But what now, Amy?" Penny tried to deflect the subject by feeling the discomfort of her friend. "What are you guys going to do now that he's going to be five years away?" Amy turned to face her friend with a blank look that indicated that even she had no answer to that question.

 **XXX**

"Well, Amy and I will wait for each other." The blue-eyed boy responded with conviction as he moved one of his pawns across the board.

"What if a stupidity boy shows up and get interest on her?" Of course he had already thought of this possibility. Oh how he had. He had already built thousands of alternative universes in his head where some guy would appear and try to woo Amy. He would not blame them, though. How could he? Amy was a treat. Intelligent, beautiful, funny, educated, fearless ... He could spend the rest of his life listing all the adjectives of his beloved one. Though he was afraid that some unwary might try to court her, he knew he could trust her.

"I'm sure she will not even look at him." He finally answered after pondering and calculating all the possibilities. "And besides, I'm counting on the two of you to keep any fool away from her." He gestured to his two friends.

"Well, depending on us you can rest easy." Leonard assured him, smiling amiably; proud that Sheldon was placing such trust in him.

"Great," he said, turning his attention back to the game.

 **XXX**

"He would never be interested in another girl." Amy stared at an empty spot on the bedroom wall.

"My mother always says we can't trust men." Bernadette argued.

"But I trust Sheldon, he would never do anything to hurt me." She turned her attention to her friends, who were looking at her with a serious and still uncertain expression.

"Exactly". Missy defended her brother. _How could they think Sheldon would do it?_ "And I'll be there to keep any girl away." She promised Amy.

"Thank you, Missy". Amy said caressing Missy's hand on the bed, and the girls smiled to each other.

"I have an idea." Penny said. "What do you think of calling the boys for a picnic near the lake, to say goodbye to Sheldon and Missy?" The girls looked at each other thoughtfully.

"I think it's a great idea, we can make a cake and some sandwiches." Missy said visibly excited.

"And we can swim too, I can not wait to wear my new swimsuit." Bernadette could not contain the excitement in her voice, much to the despair of the other three girls who twisted her face at the extremely fine, high voice.

The four of them looked at each other and ran up from the bed, going straight to the kitchen to bake the cake and prepare the sandwiches.

 **XXX**

"Great idea, Howard and I are going to stop by to get our sodas and get our swimsuits on." Leonard said as he rose from the floor.

"Well, I'm not going into the water, but I think a picnic would be nice." Howard stated.

The girls had quickly prepared the sandwiches and placed the cake in the oven. Then the two sisters went to their house to change and get some more candy while Amy went with Missy to the Cooper house to try to convince Sheldon to go, after all if there were two things that Sheldon was not a fan, they were definitely picnics and lakes. Missy had come upstairs to change as soon as they had arrived. Leaving Amy to talk to the boys. To hers and George's surprise, Sheldon agreed on the first attempt. Is it good to say no? He thought. She was sure to insist until he got tired, as she always did.

"Then hurry up, I'll just go home again to get the cake out of the oven and meet you on the main street." Amy said.

"Okay then, we're going, see you soon." Howard said and he and Leonard made their way to the exit.

"Well, I'm going upstairs and put on my bathing suit. Wait for me here, I'll be right back." Sheldon then climbed the stairs quickly, leaving Amy and George alone in the room.

"Is everything okay, Amy?" He asked.

Since the night they announced they were moving to Texas, George was genuinely concerned about her. He stood beside his brother to comfort him, but he also wanted to be with Amy. George knew it was not easy for the girl either.

She was the only person who could persuade Sheldon to do anything, and he could do blindfolded without even warying. They didn't get apart from each other for anything, and on each occasion one supported the other. It was like that since they were kids when they were chased by other kids at school and it was like that last week when Sheldon could not bear the pain of losing his father.

Sheldon certainly had a big problem dealing with feelings, and that was no secret. But he had watched them all his life and at some point came to understand that although Amy could handle her own emotions better, she most often hid what she was really feeling and tried to be strong to support those she loved.

Of course sometimes she would panic and could not suppress her feelings, as she had done that night. And it was exactly these times that made George worried, because usually when that happened she was completely out of control. Some emotions were still too strong for her to deal with.

"Yes, and you, okay?" She was sitting on the couch leaning forward and leaning her face in one of the hands facing him. She smiled openly, but George could see through her soul that no, it was not all right.

"I am worried". He admitted after taking a deep breath, staring at her with a serious expression. The girl's smile gradually dissipated as she lifted her trunk.

"Why? Sheldon said something?" She swallowed hard.

"No, this has nothing to do with Sheldon. I mean, it has and doesn't have." She only frowned, hoping he would elaborate, but he remained quiet.

"Sorry, I don't get it?," the girl said after a while.

"Amy, I consider you as my sister as much as Missy and Sheldon. I've known you since you were born, I know there's something bothering you, and don't tell me it's just the fact that Sheldon's leaving because I know that's not all. " She certainly was not expecting it. Georgie had caught her completely off guard, and there was something in his gaze that told her she would not escape this easy.

"Actually, there's one thing that's making me worried." She cleared her throat.

"Are you afraid Sheldon will forget you? He would never be able to do that, Amy." Sheldon had told his brother everything about the conversation he had had with Amy the night he gave her the chain with the ring.

"No, that's not it." She tried to say. "I mean, at first it worried me, but Sheldon and I talked about it." She stared at the chess on the coffee table.

"So what is it?" He watched her behavior closely.

"I know that not everyone knows how to deal with Sheldon, and he also does not know how to deal with people or feelings, and I know that I am the only person he listens to, George." There was a hint of tear in her eyes and that was like a pang in the boy's heart.

"Hey, you're the one who has the most influence over Sheldon, he can't do anything without asking for your opinion. He can not make an account or start a new book without consulting you first! " He smiled. "I understand that Sheldon may be a difficult person to deal with, but he is learning, Amy. The day Mother announced that we were moving to Texas, she and I were worried about his reaction, and yet he hugged her and said that everything would be fine. I think this was the last thing we expected of him". Tears began to fall on Amy's face as she heard George speaking. The boy sat next to her and hugged her as she sobbed.

"But ... But what if ... What if he needs me and I'm not there?" She asked.

George just wiped the tears from her face and smiled sweetly, conveying peace to his heart-warming sister. "I'll be there," he assured her.

"Georgie, promise you'll take care of him?"

"He's my little brother, Amy. It's my duty."

"Thanks".

And once again the two of them embraced, and stayed for a few more minutes, content to trust each other and share such a great love for someone. They only parted when Missy and Sheldon walked down the stairs together.

Sheldon was surprised at the scene, but he knew that whatever had happened, George would tell him later. At that moment all he wanted was to enjoy the days he still had with Amy. At least for the next five years.

"I'm ready, Amy, we can go." He said and Amy stood up.

"You're not coming with us?" She asked George.

"Oh no, there's a person I need to see."

"If so ..." Missy said and the three made their way to the door and heard George shout before leaving.

"Have fun". Because he sure would.

 **XXX**

"Everyone's ready?". Penny asked excitedly and they all said yes.

"Okay, so the last one to get there is a loser." Howard announced already pedaling the bike towards the end of the street.

The seven friends were all assembled and mounted on their bikes. And at that moment all the problems seemed to be forgotten. For a tiny fraction of the infinity of time, that spring afternoon, they smiled happily as they pedaled their bikes with their hearts so light they could be able to fly. The innocence they still preserved in the midst of life's discoveries made everything much easier. They ran free as their spirit through the streets of the city, laughing joyfully at each other.

Life had never been so beautiful.

"That's not fair. I had to stop halfway because of my asthma." Leonard complained still without air after being the last one to arrive.

"You wanted to compete, Leonard." Sheldon remembered smiling proudly to have reached the first place. Penny had come in second, followed by Missy, Howard, and Amy and Bernadette who had arrived tied, but still with a discreet distance from Leonard.

"It's still not fair." He complained again, dropping the bike on the ground.

"No more complaining, let's help us sort things out." Bernadette demanded in her most bossy tone.

In a matter of minutes there was a towel lined on the floor and on it, a cake, sandwiches, soft drinks and various types of candy; all under the shadow of a giant tree, which helped ease the heat.

"It's hot today, is not it?" Missy said while faning herself.

"Yes, a nice day to swim." Penny's enthusiasm was evident and everyone looked at each other. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Penny, Leonard, Missy, Bernadette, and Amy got up.

Amy looked at Sheldon and held out a hand as she raised her eyebrows. He rolled his eyes but took her hand and stood up. The two of them walked hand in hand down to the edge of the lake where they took off their clothes from the top, leaving only the baths and threw themselves into the water. Then Missy, then Penny and Leonard.

Bernadette stared at Howard while he was watching his friends have fun in the water.

"Howard, are not you coming?" He looked at her.

"No, I think I'll be fine just watching."

"Oh no, come on, even Sheldon's in the water and you're not. It's about time for you to learn to swim." She held out her hand.

"Sheldon just learned to swim as a precaution. Have you heard his theories about the world ending in a huge flood?"

"Come on, I'll teach you." She laughed and opened and closed her hand as a signal for him to pick her up. He looked at Bernadette's outstretched hand, pondering, but in the end decided to accept the offer.

 **XXX**

"Howard will not get out of the water?" Sheldon asked three hours later.

Bernadette did not give up until she was able to teach Howard how to swim. Obviously he was not yet a professional, but he could do the basics: float and lap his arms and legs, albeit in a clumsy way. But still he was happy. So happy, he didn't want to get out of the water at all.

Everyone had gone out to eat and they were talking while they watched him in the water. That was an hour ago. And yet there was Howard, with all his excitement.

"Let him be". Bernadette said as she waved at him.

"I'm just worried. He's been there for hours." Sheldon answered before biting her sandwich.

"It's okay, he'll get tired soon enough." She kept watching him as he emerged and sank into the water in a weird way.

"What he's trying to do?." This time it was Leonard who asked.

"I have no idea". She kept smiling at him as he did the same thing until strange sounds started to come out of his mouth and everyone realized what was really going on.

"Oh my God, I think he's drowning." Missy's eyes widened and she brought her hands to her mouth in despair.

Leonard and Sheldon got up and ran to the lake, immediately plunged into the water and trotted to the surface a completely airless Howard. Carefully they grabbed Howard and led him to the edge of the lake. Sheldon stepped out of the water and Leonard continued to hold him until Sheldon pulled him out.

Bernadette was soon on Howard's side while Sheldon was on the other, using all her first-aid skills and pressing with two overlapping hands somewhere in Howard's chest, he immediately began to squeeze out all the water he'd swallowed, however, it still took a few minutes for him to steady his breath, and when he did, Sheldon just backed away and joined the rest of the group that was around.

"Howie? Howie? Are you okay?" She asked stroking his face as he began to open his eyes.

"I died and I'm in the sky? Cause I think I'm seeing an angel." He smiled, making it clear that everything was fine.

"You silly". She laughed and bent down, letting her lips collide lightly against his, making the whole group smile.

"Uh, look who just gave the first kiss." Penny joked.

"Leave them alone." Amy rebuked and took Sheldon's hand, pulling him back toward the tree. Leonard, Penny and Missy followed.

They all sat down, but Sheldon wouldn't drop her hand, which caught the attention of the other three. "Look at the two of you, you can barely stay away from each other now. I want to see what you're going to do in five years." Leonard joked, but the looks he received from the young couple indicated that there was not a shred of grace.

"Leonard." Penny nudged him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I did not mean to be insensitive, I ..." He tried to say, but he was suddenly ashamed of the comment.

"It's okay, we already talked about it." Amy assured him, and she and Sheldon exchanged glances of tenderness.

Some time passed and Howard and Bernadette returned and sat down with the rest of the group. Soon they were all chatting excitedly again until they realized that the afternoon was coming to anexo end and that they should return home, but some things still had to be said.

"Well, Sheldon, Missy, we're going to miss you." Leonard said with a sincere expression, looking at the twins as he spoke.

"We'll miss you too, all of you." Sheldon replied as he saw the tears already coming down from her sister's face and Penny stood beside her, holding her hand to support.

"Do you think you'll be fine at your grandparents'?" This time it was Howard who asked.

"I believe so". He responded by lightly squeezing Amy's hand.

"Are not you coming back to visit us?" Penny asked with sadness in her eyes.

"I'll do my best, but I find it difficult."

"Well, I think Sheldon and Missy deserve a toast." Penny said when she saw that the twin had stopped crying. Then all the friends took their respective bottles of soda and lifted them up.

"So let's toast," Missy said before the bottles collided in the air.

"Long live to Sheldon and Missy." Amy said and everyone happily drank their sodas; at the same time they felt the weight of longing that was already there.

 **XXX**

The next day was the day of departure.

No one had even slept well that night, above all, Mary, who had received a rather unpleasant visit the previous evening.

Sheldon had once again climbed the structures on the walls of the Fowler house, and jumped on the balcony of Amy's bedroom. They lay in bed in the same position the other night and talked for hours. However, the moment Sheldon stood up saying that it was late and he should leave, Amy took him by the arm, " _stay_ ," she said with the sweetest look he had ever seen. _How to deny_? He thought, and lay down again.

That night the two of them fell asleep in full innocence.

They were all gathered at the train station for farewell. No one knowing very well what to say, or even prepared to say goodbye. Only when the train whistled indicating that it would leave in about twenty minutes, they began to bid farewell.

"Mary, please do not forget to send us a telegram as soon as you arrive." Larry said.

"I will, don't worry." She smiled tenderly.

"Send our regards to your parents." Mrs. Fowler hugged her as she said it.

"They will be very happy." Mary assured her.

"Are not you forgetting nothing? Are the tickets there?" He asked to be sure.

"Oh sure." George rolled his eyes and then smiled, "Sheldon made a list and made us check everything five times. I'm pretty sure it's all here." He shook his head to emphasize what he had said.

"Great". The four of them laughed.

"Well, thank you for everything you've done for me and the children." Mary said looking at the couple with a sincere smile on her lips.

"They are like our children, too, Mary, we saw them grow up." Larry looked sweetly at his wife and put his arm around her.

"He's right, and besides, I think we'll have a wedding to celebrate a couple of years from now." The wife said and the four of them looked where Sheldon and Amy were with the rest of their friends.

"I can already hear the wedding march." George joked.

The two smiled sweetly at each other, yet there was a trace of sadness in the immensity of each one's eyes. Their hands would not let go for a second, and every gesture, every word that escaped their lips would exude the purest love.

"So, are you sure you have everything you need?" Amy asked as Sheldon checked for the amount of suitcases.

"Of course, Amy, I checked everything five times before leaving."

"Great".

"So, I guess that's all."

"I think so".

"I know I've said it many times, but I'm going to miss you." She had never looked so fragile as at that moment, her voice almost a sigh, her eyes filled with tears about to fall.

"I think that redundancy is because you will miss me a lot." A faint smile settled on his face as he lifted his hand to her face and put behind her ear a rebellious lock of hair that had come loose from the clip.

"It's possible". She returned the smile and the tears ran free on her face.

"I'll miss your even more." He hugged her tightly, and she returned it tightening the hug.

"I doubt." She said as she let go.

"Well, if x represents how much you're going to miss me, then I'll miss you x 1." Sheldon put his hands in his pocket and crocked his neck slightly, raising his eyebrows.

She put her hands back and looked at her shoes while moving her foot. "And I'm going to miss you 3x 1 ..." Penny interrupted with a cough, trying to get their attention. She did not want to disturb the moment, but they also wanted to say goodbye to Sheldon. Amy and Sheldon just looked at them shyly. For a second they had forgotten that the others were there too.

"We will not miss you too, Sheldon." Leonard said. "I think Amy will miss you more, but ..." He hesitated for a moment, "Can we give you a hug?"

Sheldon just nodded and opened his arms. First Leonard, then Penny, then Howard and finally Bernadette. Everyone embraced him.

"We want you to be happy." Bernadette said sincerely.

"Thank you, that means a lot." He smiled at the group who looked at him with expressions of tenderness.

"I think I deserve a hug from my little sister too." George came out suddenly putting his hands on Amy's shoulder, who in reflex glanced at him.

"Georgie, of course." She stretched out her arms and he bent down to hug her. With her back to Sheldon she did not notice when the two brothers looked at each other and exchanged smiles.

"I'll take care of Sheldon, I promise." He whispered to Amy.

"Thank you," she said softly before she let go.

"And I, do not I get a hug?" Missy came up asking her friend.

"You know, I think we deserve a collective hug." Penny exclaimed, and the eight of them hugged for a moment.

"George! Sheldon! Missy! Come on, it's time!" Mary shouted from where she stood near the train door.

Friends broke free of the embrace. George and Missy grabbed their suitcases and walked side by side toward their mother. Sheldon watched them go and fought internally against the urge to stay, but he knew he could not.

Five years, he told himself. It will pass quickly.

"Goodbye, guys" he said to the four friends who waved. And then he turned to the girl who smiled sadly at his side. "Goodbye, Amy." He ran his hand over her face before he gathered all the effort he needed to turn around without looking back.

Missy and Mary had already boarded. Amy's parents approached the group and everyone watched as George and Sheldon handed the suitcases to a boy who carried them into the train. When all the bags were already on board George made mention of Sheldon to board. Amy felt her world crumble and did not stop to think about her next actions.

"Sheldon!" She screamed and they all stopped to look at the girl who was now running. Sheldon just opened his arms waiting for the meeting. The distance between them could be traversed in seconds, however the more Amy ran the farther he seemed to be and the moment seemed to be passing in slow montion. He watched as the bag she carried slowly fell to the floor and opened, letting out the targets that had been thrown into the air before falling and bouncing on the ground a few times; more rebel strands escaped the clip that now hung from her hair as she continued to run. And when she finally reached him, she wrapped her arms around his neck. As soon as his arms were around her, she was immediately being lifted off the ground. "I love you". She said softly.

"I love you too". He closed his eyes as he held her steady in the air, wishing with all his soul to that moment to last forever.

It didn't.

The train whistled again, indicating that it was leaving soon, and George shouted for Sheldon to board.

Sheldon and Amy broke loose with tears in their eyes and a knot in their stomach. What they felt at that moment could not be put into words. It was like losing an important part of themselves. The most important part, the one that would hurt the most, the one that was essential to not make them feel lost, the one that made them who they are, the one that made them feel safe, and bring them comfort.

But at the same time they still had one important thing: hope. And this my friends, was the only thing stronger than all the fears and sorrows that they carried in the heart at that moment.

They knew that was not goodbye. But one 'I'll see you soon'.

Five years would pass quickly. And after that time, nothing would be able to separate them. The forces of the universe would not be enough to keep them apart. They were a unique force in nature, the love they felt for each other was so strong but so strong that it would seek its own way of continuing to exist through time and through distance; would dwell in their souls and build their fortress around them. Like a castle wall that would prevent any threat. A simple and pure love. And at the same time so sensitive.

Their love, they would always find a way...

 **XXX**

 **A/N: please, let me know your thoughts.**

 **Next chapter we're gonna see how they'll handle being away from each other and some little things that surely can change their lives and this whole story.**

 **I'll be back soon.**


	4. Chapter IV

**It took me a little longer to post this chapter because I was kind of busy with college stuff. It's been a difficult month.**

 **For those who are following, favoring and commenting, I would like to express my thanks. I really like to know what you guys are up to now and I really want to know your expectations for what's to come. Perhaps this chapter is the beginning of a watershed in this history. I hope to not disappoint you. Thank you very much and have a good reading.**

 **XXX**

 **Chapter IV**

That afternoon the sky was closing. The dark, heavy clouds indicated that a strong storm was about to arrive.

The imposing gale dragged the most diverse objects through where it passed.

Everyone was running around trying to find a shelter to escape the rain that would soon begin to fall majestically from the sky.

But nothing really mattered.

At least not for the emerald-eyed girl.

She was there, sitting on the train station bench in her green dress, her black heels, her long dark brown hair now above her shoulders, fastened by staples on the side, showing off her beautiful curls.

She kept her posture erect and her gaze fixed on the railroad. Longing for the arrival of the train that would bring back the part of her that was missing.

The part that lay apart for five long years.

It was hard to say how she had survived all this time. However, somehow she had achieved it. And as soon as the train arrived, everything would return to its proper place. Everything would fit and make sense again. The earth would turn again around the sun, and the universe would return to its natural balance.

The cathedral's bell near the station sounded indicating that the hour had arrived, and at any moment the train would be there.

The tip of the black leather heels repeatedly hit the ground in short intervals of time as she continued to stare toward where the train was supposed to come from.

A loud rumble of thunder roused her from the state of stupor she was in and then she looked around. There was no one else.

The staff, the passengers, everyone had gone somewhere, she just did not know where, although the fact remained.

She was alone.

But not for long.

The train whistled across the horizon, and she glanced back at the railroad. It was slowly approaching, slowing as it got closer to the station.

Standing, she straightened her dress and smoothed the curls of her hair.

She was nervous. Her hands were sweating and the chills ran through her body more and more intensely as the train came closer.

When it finally stopped, the girl's heart stopped as well.

The seconds passed, and the more difficult the task of breathing became. Her lungs seemed not to want to cooperate enough. She stared at the door of the train waiting for it to open, every minute it remained closed, the girl felt more and more agonized, until at last it opened.

Only one passenger disembarked. A tall, thin boy with big blue eyes and a blank expression.

And it was at that very moment that the world seemed to stop spinning. Had the earth stopped its constant rotation to witness that moment?

The boy put the bag on the floor and looked from side to side as if looking for someone.

"Sheldon."

The girl screamed but he did not seem to listen. He was very far away and looked in the opposite direction of hers, as if expecting someone to emerge from there, but no one appeared.

"Sheldon, over here."

Again he didn't hear, instead he took the bag he had left on the ground, and began to walk in the direction he was previously looking. Amy wondered if he had not listened and stood with a confused expression on her face until she realized that he was walking away and decided to run to catch up.

"Sheldon." She shouted this time closer and he stopped.

He looked around trying to locate where the voice came from, when he turned his eyes met hers and she smiled. Keeping her pace, she kept rushing toward him. He nonetheless continued to look at her without expressing any emotion.

She stopped only when she was a few inches away from him, breathing heavily and feeling the rush of adrenaline through her body, the smile she carried doubled as she continued to stare at him. Her eyes glittered and filled with water, flooded with a deep and genuine happiness she had not felt in the past five years.

He looked at her without expressing any emotion, yet his gaze was still penetrating, making her feel as if she were naked and exposed. As if only with that look he could read her soul as if he were reading a poem or a book.

She was totally delivered, exposed and above all, bound to the spell hidden within his sapphire eyes. And the two remained in that state for long minutes before the silence was broken.

"Why is the station empty?"

He asked, and the reality came back violently, making her heart contract so tightly inside his chest that her voice was like a mere sigh.

Years away and that was the most important question he had to ask?

"Surely people must be fleeing from the rain." She said.

She put both hands to her heart, as if the gesture could contain the beats so strong and fast that they made echoes within her body. He looked around again, still with the same expression.

"They sent you to get me?" He asked after turning to her again. The voice as expressionless as the face itself.

He looked lost. He didn't look like the same person who had left that same station five years ago. Something about his behavior was different.

"They?" She frowned.

"The staff of the Institute". He replied angrily. As if it were obvious who he was referring to.

She looked around, the station was deserted. The first raindrops began to plummet from the cloudy, dark sky.

"Why would the staff of the Institute come to get you?" She asked as she tilted her neck to the side.

"Maybe because I'm going to stay on the dormitory of the Institute?" He asked rhetorically.

She still looked confused.

 _Why was he acting like that?_ She thought.

"What's wrong, Sheldon?"

"I could make a list with all that is wrong, but what disturbs me most at this time is that they sent a madwoman to get me."

She definitely did not understand anything. A madwoman? Why was he treating her like that? Nothing made sense at that moment.

Unless...

Was he making a joke? Some joke that would end up with a bazinga, which he had explained to her in one of the letters.

It just might be.

Once more her smile widened.

"Sheldon, stop that. Let's go before the rain gets stronger."

She reached up and touched his arm, but his countenance expressed a sign of visible repulsion at the touch.

"Who are you? And who gave you permission to touch me?"

The red warning signal began to ring inside the girl's mind. Had her greatest fear come true? Had he forgotten her?

"Sheldon, why are you acting like this? If it's a joke, just know it's not funny at all."

Her words were filled with despair and sadness.

"I'll tell you what's not funny, miss." He was visibly nervous and started to raise his voice. "What is not funny is send a crazy person who apparently has no politeness, get me at the station."

He was screaming at the end of the sentence and Amy was crying wildly.

"You know what?" He said. "I'm going to find my way to the Institute, and don't you think I'm not going to express my deep indignation at the reception I had."

And with that he turned and began to walk hastily.

A thunder louder than the previous one echoed and the rain began to fall harder.

Amy just stood there.

Immobile.

Unable to absorb the latest events.

She watched him go without even looking back.

Her legs failed and she dropped to her knees on the floor, but she completely ignored the pain of the blow. She continued sobbing wildly, letting the tears mingle with the rain that now fell vigorously and without forgiveness.

"Sheldon." She tried to scream again, but he was already far away.

And even if he was not, he would not look back.

"Sheldon." She screamed again.

But it was already too late.

Lightning struck the sky, and then a thunder echoed. Amy woke up scared, sitting abruptly on the bed and looking around in the dimness of the room. The rain outside was intense.

It was only a dream.

Still breathing heavily, her chest rose and fell frantically. She ran her hand through her hair and lay on her back on the bed again, placing her forearm over her face and trying to steady herself.

 _It was just a nightmare_. She thought.

The same nightmare in the last four years.

Almost every night since the day Sheldon left on that train she had the same nightmare. And every time she woke up scared the same way. Every time it seemed equally real.

Amy had even gotten used to it. But that night, she woke up with a strange feeling. As a kind of prelude that all this would become real.

It wouldn't it, would it?

"Stop this". She told herself.

Truth be told. She was getting more and more affected by that nightmare than she would like to admit. But that was bullshit.

Was not?

Sheldon would never forget her. They exchanged letters every month. They still shared every aspect of their lives with each other. They were promised.

What could happen bad?

A knock on the door of her room woke her from her thoughts.

Pamela came in and hold the door, leaving it half open as she looked at her older sister with a look of tenderness.

"That nightmare again?" She asked in a soft voice.

Amy sat on the bed and just shook her head as she looked at her worriedly.

"Did I wake you up?"

"I could not sleep." She glanced toward the glass door leading to the balcony. "These thunders ..." She could not finish.

Amy narrowed her eyes, understanding what the sister meant.

"Come here, sleep with me," she spoted the space next to her on the bed, motioning for her sister to lie down with her.

Pamela nodded and closed the door. As soon as she lay down the girl was shrouded in the embrace of her older sister.

The two sisters felt peace adorn their hearts as the rain fell vigorously on the outside.

It was not uncommon on such a stormy day that Pamela would look for her older sister. Although in recent times this happened less frequently, the girl was still dying for fear of the thunder and lightning that was manifesting in the sky. But Amy had a feeling that every time Pamela showed up in her bedroom at dawn they had less to do with the rain and more with concern.

Amy's screams at night were getting worse as the nightmare got more real.

More scary.

But Amy did not want to think about it. She wanted to have a quiet night's sleep.

Then she closed her eyes and slept.

But her sleep was far from peaceful.

 **XXX**

Exactly at noon the sign echoed through the classrooms and hallways of the School, heralding the end of the period. Amy let out a sigh of relief before closing the books and notebooks that were on top of her table. She looked at the blackboard and noticed how it was full of equations, but these she had known for a long time, and could solve all without even thinking much.

But how had the board filled up so fast?

At some point in the last hour the girl had stopped paying attention to the teacher who explained the numerous mathematical formulas with refinement and elegance and let her mind navigate the rivers of apprehension. The dream she'd had the night before was still vivid in her memories, making her stomach contract and her skin twitch in horror. It was impossible to tell how many nights she'd had the same dream in the last four years. Except this time, it seemed so much more real that it made her terribly frightened.

That morning she had awakened with the sun entering the room timidly through the windows and porch windows. The thunderous rain of the previous night had left without a trace. Sometime during the night Pamela returned to her own room, since there was not even a sign of the girl in bed.

Like every morning, she got up, took her shower, prepared for school, had brakfast, and left the house. Nothing out of the ordinary. But still, something was different. She could feel inside herself as if something bad was about to happen. Still, she did not know what to say. But that feeling was there, consuming her like the flames of hell.

The grammar, etiquette, and math classes that morning passed like a blur. Nothing else seemed to catch Amy's attention.

All the girls left the classroom as usual. Some laughing, others most likely talking about their boyfriends. Or fiancé. This was high school senior year and many of the girls were already engaged, after all, it was not uncommon at the time.

"Hey, Amy, are you okay?" Penny asked after leaving the room with Amy and Bernadette.

Amy had kept her gaze always ahead, her face apprehensive, adding to the concern of the two sisters.

"I'm fine. I just ... I had a nightmare."

Penny and Bernadette exchanged worried looks. Amy's nightmares were not uncommon. However, the tone used to utter the sentence indicated something was very wrong.

"That nightmare again?"

Bernie asked as she put her arm around Amy's shoulder. The closed eyes and deep sigh she exhaled were affirmations enough. They guided Amy to sit on one of the benches on the patio. They failed, however, to note that in the next seat they had an audience.

"Amy, you know, it've been four years already, you should see a doctor, or maybe one of those hypnosis treatments."

Penny suggested but earned from Amy a look with the potential to kill. She swallowed hard and held her breath before the brunette opened her mouth to answer.

"I do not believe in this cheap psychology, Penny. You should know that by now."

The words came more friendly than the look she received.

"I just suggested." Penny defended before releasing the air.

"What was it this time Amy? You've never seemed so affected by this before." Bernadete asked.

Amy looked at Bernadette who was sitting to her left. Thinking about what she could answer. But even she had no answer to that question. But with every effort she made to think of a possible alternative, that sensation made her heart contract inside her chest. She swallowed hard as she looked into her friend's eyes that carried the purest concern, but that only made her anxiety increase.

"I don' know, I just ... I have a strange feeling." Amy placed her hand where she knew her heart was as she squeezed the spot.

"Maybe it's just the anxiety that's consuming you a bit," Penny said. "You and Sheldon continue to trade letters?"

The smile came to Amy's lips at the mention of Sheldon's name. And she felt herself warm inside.

"Yes, we do. I'm going to the post office today to deliver the letter I wrote to him."

The two sisters smiled as the love shone brightly into the emerald eyes. This was certainly the brightest and strongest glow.

The girl next them, who was listening to the conversation got up and cast a glare full of debauchery toward the three friends. But they didn't even have time to notice her presence before she turned toward the exit and walked on her heels.

"Amy's going to be okay, nothing bad can happen." The tone of comfort in Bernadette's voice added peace to Amy's thoughts.

"Bernadette's right." Penny agreed, looking directly into Amy's eyes and conveying every confidence she had within herself.

"Nothing ... Nothing can separate you both. You've fought so hard these past four years, I'm sure it won't be now that things are going to start going wrong."

If there was anyone in the face of the whole earth who hoped things would work out right between Sheldon and Amy, beyond themselves, this one definitely was Penny. Though she did not admit it aloud, the girl was an incorrigible romantic. Her friend's suffering in recent years touched her deeply. And in a way that scared her. Love, although it is beautiful, could sometimes be scary, and she herself was the victim of such fear. But she had watched the love story of the two close friends, and she had never seen anything so strong, so pure, so platonic...

Her heart broke the day Sheldon boarded the train. But it was not his departure that made her so sad. It was the sadness carved and scattered in Amy's face, from that data on she was never the same again.

Penny more than anyone wanted to see her friend happy. And she would do everything in her power to make it possible. Except the only person in this world who could make Amy happy at the time was Sheldon.

He and him alone.

Only the day he returned, the smile would shine on Amy's face again. But until that day came, she would still have a long year to go. She was content to comfort her friend and offer her words of comfort. But in a way, that was already a lot.

"Surely you're right, I think this is just insecurity on my part."

She stared down at the floor with both hands clutching the edge of the bench.

Was she just reacting badly? Letting herself get carried away by her subconscious mind. After all, Amy did not usually be the kind of insecure person, but when it came to Sheldon, since he'd left, things had changed...

The frequent nightmares were proof of this.

But they were only nightmares. Parts preached by the brain often as a form of self-sabotage. Sheldon would never forget her. He would never abandon her.

They sat for a few more minutes absorbing the silence.

"Would you like to come with us? We can have lunch and do our homework."

Bernadette suggested, and Amy shook her head.

"No, thank you, I have to go to the Post Office, and then I'll go to the Institute to sort out some business.

She gave a friendly smile and the two sisters smiled back when they got up.

"Okay, see you tomorrow, bye, Amy. Take care"

The two waved and made their way to the exit. Amy watched them walk away still lost in her own thoughts.

 **XXX**

Ramona Kripke walked quickly to the post office hitting the heels as she walked in a way she thought was elegant. But it only sent shivers of agony to anyone close enough to hear the annoying noise. Her erect posture exuded confidence, her gaze was taken by something that anyone would say was complacency.

That was definitely not a good sign.

Over the years, everyone had witnessed the girl's tantrums. The servants of the house where she lived were the greatest witnesses of how she could earn anything from her father with only a deafening scream. She grew up in a spirit of superiority. Just like the brother. The two never knew limits. They never learned how to treat people well. But who would blame them if they never had the best example? Truth be told, no one could bear them, but they all had a lot of pity, and at the same time fear. The former because they grew up without their mother. The later because they used the position they were in to threaten, blackmail, and hurt anyone who got in their way or refused their demands. But again, they had not received the best of the examples.

She climbed the stairs to the building as the people she passed stared at her with concern on their faces. _What is she going to do now?_ They wondered. She reached the door, gently pushed the glass frame and made her way to the counter where service was provided.

On his back and focused on some task the employee had not noticed her presence. And that annoyed her deeply. She was the kind of person who hated to go unnoticed anywhere she went. The attentions should all be on her. Ever. And that only made her lean even more to the malevolent plan she'd craved in her spoiled mind and the brink of psychopathy. His taciturn expression gradually shifted into a somber, sly smile.

"Hello Mr. Stuart," that thin, unpleasant voice caught the attention of the clerk, who turned in the direction of the voice only to feel shivers down his spine at the expression on her face, "how are you?"

Stuart swallowed dryly, sensing that whatever was the reason for her presence at the establishment, would not be a good thing.

"Oh, Miss Ramona, I'm fine. Is there anything I can help?"

He replied with the most articulate smile and expression he could muster. Still obtuse to the fact that had brought such an unpleasant customer into the establishment.

"Actually, yes! I need you to do me a favor."

Direct.

She was never wasting time. She never stopped to think about the consequence of her actions. What she wanted was thought and done, and let everyone go to hell with them.

"I'm listening".

The sentence uttered though confident was betrayed by the tone and swings in the voice, which together indicated a deep fear of whatever was to come. And she completely felt the fear that seemed to dwell in every space of her mind, making it a void, a blank.

She leaned over the counter, leaning on both arms, intending to get as close as possible, so that other employees or clients who were coming in couldn't hear what she was about to say.

"Amy Fowler is coming today, delivering a letter to be sent to Texas." She said unpretentiously, studying his confused expression.

"Oh yes, she always sends letters there, and always receives, too, you must know the beautiful love story between her and the son of the late Dr. Cooper." Fear had completely paralyzed his train of thought, and words rolled from his mouth without him having time to realize what he was saying.

"Yes, I know, they both think they love each other, but that will not last long."

The pupils of the young villain widened because of the fury. Why the hell did everyone think that Amy and Cooper were a nice couple? Had not they ever stopped to think that she might be a better mate to him? Just her. From the day she had first seen him in dance class at school. But Amy had come first, and they danced together in that class as well as all the others in the years that followed. While she had to dance with some other boy whose name she had not even remembered. The only memory in her mind was how Sheldon and Amy smiled at each other and laughed at any comment the other made, but that because of the distance it became impossible for her to hear.

They were both so innocent then. But she did not see innocence, nor the friendship they nurtured since they were still mostly babies. She could see only Amy stealing the boy she liked, but like anything else she could manage in her life, she would not have him from shouting. And that irritated her deeply.

"And why do you say that?" Stuart wondered still uncertain about what she came to do, but with a great fear of what could be.

"Because Sheldon Cooper will not receive the letter. You're going to have it return to Amy Fowler with the recipient's refusal stamp." Cold, rigid and direct.

"No, I will not. This is against the Courier code of ethics, I may be fired for it."

The look she threw at him might kill. But for the first time since he'd noticed her presence, the light of courage seemed to light in the background if his mind. He could not. No way. In addition to going against the ethics of his temporary profession, messing up a love story as beautiful and as pure as the two was a crime he was not willing to commit.

But she had her cards up her sleeve... What she could not gain from shouting was often won on the basis of blackmail, but she would still keep that letter for a while.

"My father is a friend of the Mail's owner, I can assure you that you will not lose your job."

"Never mind, this is wrong." He said firmly.

And the letter was about to be released.

Once more, that somber smile took over her face. And again Stuart felt the fear taking over his mind. Like a hypnosis, or a drug that paralyzes you.

"Oh Stuart, I didn't want it to be like this, but you're really making things very difficult," the artificially sweet voice made the man dizzy. "Let's put it this way: either you do what I'm asking you, or I'm going to tell my dad right now that you tried to harass me and so you get fired."

"Would not you have the nerve?"

Would she?

Benevolence and empathy were never, and would never be an attribute present in Ramona's character. She wanted what she wanted, no matter what it cost, give to whoever hurts and damn who she could hurt. She had.

"Do you want to pay to see?" She raised her eyebrow in defiance.

"Miss Ramona, I depend on this job." But that did not matter to her...

Yes, he depended on that job. His sister was about to enter the journalism school, and he was writing his first book. He had drems, just like anyone else. He wanted to have his books published, wanted to open his own publishing company in the distant future when he was a successful author. He wanted his sister to graduate and fulfill her own dreams. And she depended on him.

How many dreams and how many people harmed in favor of a selfish desire?

"Well, then, you better do what I'm asking." She laughed looking at his astonished expression and knew instantly: she had won.

Opening her purse, she took money out of it and slid slowly over the counter. A cynical smile on her face.

"Swallow your money." Stuart said fiercely taking the money and shoving it away. But she pretended not to hear and turned to walk away, stopping at her heels when she realized something had passed. She turned to him again and walked slowly, and when she was close enough she looked into his eyes in a gesture of intimidation.

"Oh, one more thing. She will not receive or send any telegram, i'm being clear?" He inhaled and exhaled heavily still enraged, and she understood what that meant

"Great". She replied contentedly and turned to leave definitely.

Outside the building, Amy climbed the short staircase with a wide, passionate smile drawn on her beautiful, thin lips. The flush on her cheeks exalted her beauty and the gleam in her eyes, making it clear why she smiled. And all the passers-by looked at it, too, but for totally different reasons.

She reached the top of the stairs and her smile gradually faded when she saw who was standing in front of the door. That sensation that had accompanied her since she had woke up early that morning latent again in her being.

"Why do you think you can follow me, Fowler?" Cynicism stamped on Ramona's face. It was noticeable throughout the gesticulating and breathing of her. But for a long time Amy had not been intimidated by it. Or her threats. She was no longer that scared little girl locked in the cleaning closet.

"Really now, do you think you are the only one who uses the post office's services or did you shout so hard that it became exclusive to you?" She laughed sarcastically, while the other watched her discredited by the subtle reaction. But that lasted a few seconds.

That damn cynical smile came back and she walked past Amy with her chin resting on one hand, pondering what she would say next.

"You look very brave, don't you? We'll see how long this lasts." She teased, but Amy wasn't buying any of it.

Ramona continued her walk toward the stairs. Amy watched her go, she had gone down the first step stopping when she heard Amy speak.

"You do not frighten me any more, Ramona, I'm not one of your employees to whom you can take whatever you want on the basis of shouting, the only thing you do is nauseating me. Now, If you excuse me, I have more important things to do".

And with that she turned toward the door of the building again, leaving a raging Ramona behind her. She could even try to separate Sheldon and Amy, she could even do it. For a short time. But fear? It didn't matter to Amy any more, and it pounded Ramona more than anything else.

 **XXX**

Amy completed her assignments at the post office, all the time grinning heartily at Stuart. Failing to notice his discomfort. He waged an internal battle between what was right, and his sister's future. As soon as Amy left he decided to keep the letter and decide what to do after.

Later that day, she was still at the Institute. Walking through the various halls looking for her father. But he was not in the office. Not even in the library. She then decided to get into the boardroom. It was late afternoon, and they rarely had any meetings at that time. But it was the last place she could look.

She raised her hand closed to knock on the door, but then she couldn't. For some reason she didn't know, her heart contracted inside her chest and began to beat at a frenetic pace and then she felt it.

Again, that sensation disturbed her.

She could hear voices inside the room, but she could not distinguish them. Serious, male voices. They seemed to be in some discussion, but it was not possible to understand what they were talking about, and the discussion increased in rhythm and volume, at the same time that her anxiety increased.

She knocked but no one seemed to hear.

She knocked again with more force. And then, suddenly, they ceased.

Although no one had told her to come in she decided that now would be her chance. Slowly, carefully turning the door handle, she opened it and took a shy step into the room.

But his father was not there.

Two pairs of visibly troubled eyes stared at her.

Two pairs of nearly identical eyes. Eyes of father and son.

Owen and Barry Kripke.

The older one who was in the middle of the room, seemed to be passing from one side to the other. The youngest was standing by the huge window with his arms folded. Both with red face. They both looked at her as if she were a hunt.

Amy's breath stopped.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry to interrupt."

That's all she could say. All the words of the vast vocabulary seemed to elude her at that moment.

"Miss Fowler, how can I help you?" Owen's face softened and he smiled a yellow smile. But what he carried in his eyes was frightening.

Barry just stared at her, not saying a word. The whole scene passing before her eyes, but it was as if she was not there, she started to act in automatic.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Kripke, I'm looking for my father, did you see him?" She took a step closer to the door. A gesture of anticipation and fear. She was not very sure, after all she was not controlling her actions.

"Well, he left not too long ago. Is there something wrong?" He went towards the huge table and began to organize some papers that were on the object.

It took her a few seconds before she realized she should respond.

"No, I just needed to deliver to him some documents that arrived in the mail today." Her voice exuded more confidence than she actually had.

"If it is about the Institute, you can leave it with me. There are no problems." He offered.

"Actually, I don't know what it's about, I think I'd better take it to him, but anyway, thank you." She had gained control of herself again. And she was happy to realize that she didn't have anything else to do there. She would not stay a second longer in the presence of those two men.

"You're welcome, miss." He nodded indicating a farewell commitment, which she answered vocally.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Kripke, Mr. Barry." She said turning to the last, who was standing with his arms crossed still close to the window, staring at her with the same expression. Barry just as his father just nodded toward her. In the next instant she was already outside and the door closed behind her.

Barry kept looking toward the door. For two long minutes, until his father noticed. The clue his look gave away easy to recognize.

Admiration. Hope.

"She's pretty, isn't she?" Owen asked and Kripke seemed out of his stupor. Entering a state of alert by the tone of his father. Something terribly offensive would follow

"Yes, she is very pretty". He cast a suspicious glance toward his father.

"You know, her father told me the other day that Sheldon Cooper plans to marry her as soon as he returns from Texas. That's a lucky boy." Right there.

In that exact place. Between the lines of that sentence, Barry understood where his father would come with all that.

Once again.

Again he would say how much he would prefer Sheldon Cooper - or George Junior - to be his son, instead of him. It was the same subject since he was still very young. Owen spared no comparisons. Sheldon, though younger, was smarter. More polite. More cultured. More responsible. He was much more talented at whatever he was up to do. It was always Sheldon. Or George. But most of the time, Sheldon. The reason for such comparison was still unknown to Barry. Although he had his misgivings there that something very serious had happened in the past. At that time, that would still be kept, until he was sure of what it was. At that moment, he would use his best defense macanism: pretending he did not understand what he was talking about.

"And what do I have to do with it?" He looked back at the window, as he was a few minutes ago, and watched as Amy crossed the courtyard toward the gate.

"Well, he and his siblings lost their father and all the fortune they had." Owen clasped his hands behind him and began to walk slowly toward his son, who now watched the girl who had left the room a few minutes ago, talking to the doorman. "Sheldon will return in a year to study physics at the Institute and marry an equally intelligent, beatiful, astute, educated lady. Very different from those brainless stupid girls you're courting around in. Don't you feel bad knowing they've gotten much better in life than you?" The last sentence had been uttered so intimidatingly that Barry sat the size of a pea.

He cursed himself internally for letting his father exercise so much power over him.

"I don't give a shit about them, or what they make out of life." His voice a tenuous whisper, which wipes out all his insecurity. Owen laughed dejectedly as he walked away and walked quietly back and forth across the room.

"Well, you should, at least for Sheldon Cooper. I'm sure that a year from now when he returns, all the attention will be on him and his future bride. You know, they're going to study here. Surely, they'll be the power couple in the scientific environment".

Owen knew exactly what were his son's weaknesses. It took a long time before Barry decided to study at the Institute. After years of having to do his first school years over and over again, since he was not interested enough in school to devote himself, he decided to stay behind his father. Now that he would finally do something in his life, there was Sheldon again, proving without the slightest intention that he was much better than he.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" He asked rhetorically.

"I would be much more proud to have a son like Sheldon Cooper than I have of you. Twenty-two years and all you do is spend my money. You've never introduced me to a decent girl and does not give a damn about business nor education. You know sometimes I think it's good that your mother is not alive to see how disgusted you are as a son".

"That's enough," Barry shouted in fury. How could your own father be so low, so bad? "Do not put my mother in that," he warned, turning to his father.

"So act like a man, it's past time for that, Barry." His father screamed even louder. Anyone passing by could hear the argument, even with the door closed.

They stared at each other for a moment. Until Owen collected the rest of the papers on the table, he placed them in a briefcase and turned toward the door, not saying another word, but Barry was not finished. Not yet. There was a promise to be made. He swore with all his being, all his soul, more to himself than to the father and then, he voiced the promise, and once spoken aloud it became real.

"You'll still be proud of me. Keep my words."

Owen stopped suddenly. Surprised at first. But he would not take his son seriously. He did not even bother to look at him, just laughed debauchedly for a few minutes that seemed to have no end, until the laughter ceased and he let out a long sigh.

"That's what we'll see." He still laughed, and made his way to the door. Leaving Barry with his thoughts.

He turned back to the window, but Amy was gone.

A plan suddenly crossed his thoughts.

 **XXX**

 **AN: OH** **MY! What does Barry Kripke have in mind? Let me know your thoughts, please. XX**


	5. Chapter V

Chapter V

Five years.

Finally time had passed. The boy full of dreams in mind and a love in the heart that seemed to expand more each day passed away from the one that he swore to himself to love forever.

Although in the last year the only thing left for him that kept the flame of such a genuine love still bright and strongly lit on his chest were the letters that carry her scent and the most beautiful declarations and vows of a love he didn't know if was still as alive as she had said in the last letter he had received more than a year ago.

For more than a year his letters kept coming back and forth. No matter how many times he sent them.

At first he thought it was just a mistake and then sent another. But that too came back. Then he sent another. And again it came back.

But young Sheldon was persevering, and in the last year what he did most was send letters. But none of them were answered.

Had she given up?

Had she stopped loving him?

Had she gotten tired of keeping in touch?

Maybe she had found some other suitor. Maybe she had realized that being alone was better. Maybe she realized that deep down inside she didn't love him that much.

For a year his heart ached and slammed into his chest trying to find a plausible answer to that awful situation. For a year he searched for a light; for a remedy that would relieve him. He prayed to a God who did not even believe that a miracle would happen.

He wanted to leave Texas, go after his love and understand what had happened. He wanted to hear from her lips that it was nothing, that it was just a misunderstanding. And that she was still waiting for him. But he knew he could not.

In recent months his grandfather became very ill and in a matter of little time he had no more strength to fight against the terrible disease that caught him and all of his family by surprise. Everyone knew it was only a matter of time before he gave his last breath. What no one expected was the day after his death, his wife would die as well.

She could not live in a world without him.

With Junior most of the time caring for the family business, Sheldon was left with the mission of caring for his mother and sister. Although all attempts to persuade Mary to sell family properties in Texas, she was irreducible. She had been born and raised in that place, saw her father work hard to have everything they had, it was hard to sell everything and just go.

But he knew he needed to follow his life, run after his dreams. And when the time finally came, his mother encouraged him to go.

Nothing would stop him there.

Nothing more would prevent him from going to study and of course, to go after his love and the answers he was looking for.

And as the train approached the station, Sheldon was closer to his love. They were five years apart, but now just few hours separated him from his happiness.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Fate often is often truly ruthless to those who believe in it. He always gives h

its way to make things happen. Sometimes in a good way, sometimes not so much. Those who believe know that often things happen in such a way that it becomes unbelievable. Those who do not believe, live seeking answers to unbelievable things. But whether by fate or not, things do not stop happening. It could be the butterfly effect, or even Murphy's law. The time never stops. Life goes its course. And it loves to play pranks.

Oh how it loves it.

Sometimes some people cling to the idea that maybe everyone has their little miracle. Amy, however, was not one of those people. But how could she not believe that at least one theory, an explanation, were the universe, destiny, some spiritual vitality, or just the butterfly effect, could explain all the phenomena that had occurred in her life in the last five years?

She had no answers, and she knew it would be fruitless to try to find them. It was necessary to accept the natural course of events and just to live. After all, it was impossible to change time, go back in the past and revive it or simply fix everything that had gone wrong. But it was also impossible to predict the future. No matter how often her sixth sense spoke loudly enough, it was silent most of the time.

Had she run if she knew the next thing?

Deep down she knew she did.

Every step she took, the faster she ran, the more she threw herself from the arms of fate; of the future ...

The flapping of a butterfly's wings can cause an earthquake. Rejection by someone, or more specifically by someone's kiss, would take your feet off the floor.

Literally.

She passed through halls and corridors at an impressive speed. She hardly knew where she was going. Her reasoning was troubled. Her mind had triggered the glow signal. She would not stop for anything now. She was so stunned that as she descended the steps to the main patio, she did not notice the end of the railing at the top of the steps, and when she realized it she screamed, but it was too late. Her body was suspended in the air, save for the only hand that held the edge of the floor. But her hand was slipping, and she knew the fall would be inevitable. Only the tips of her fingers held her. She squeezed her eyelids, her face writhing in agony, a desperate tear fell and slid down her face. And just like the tear, she fell as well.

She expected the contact with a hard and cold ground. And maybe some gnawing pain that would make her want death. But instead, she felt the contact of two strong arms, warm and secure. A familiar scent invaded her senses, leaving her dizzy. A scent she'd recognized from the letters she held in a small box in the drawer of the nightstand. She felt herself being pulled closer, hearing a gasping breath and a sense of comfort took hold. A feeling of home ...

Was death like this?

Comfortable and beautiful?

A round of applause was heard around her, but she refused to open her eyes. She trembled, but those arms holding her were fully steady. Her chest rose and fell frantically, following her breathing. Understanding was gradually clearing her thoughts and she began to understand the situation. She opened her eyes slowly and the first thing she came upon was her hand resting on a broad, rigid, masculine breastplate, covered in social robes; a white shirt overlaid by a tie in the darkest shade of gray, and a jacket just a few lighter shades.

Her hand involuntarily made its way up; through the back of his head, and the tips of her fingers finally tracing a slow trail through the hot skin of his face to the cheeks that burned like flames. Gathering her courage she finally raised her head to acknowledge her savior. Her eyes slowly registered the sketch of thin, parted lips and a well-angled chin, a well-drawn nose, and finally his eyes. Blue. Two pairs of sapphire. Well wide and intense as the blue of the sea. Eyes she had not seen in five years.

"Amy!" The owner of the eyes sighed.

That voice, she knew who she belonged to but it was so different from years ago. It was grave and full of masculinity. Certainly a result of puberty. The shivers ran all over her body.

Those blessed eyes continued to stare at her with vehemence. Reading secret poems written in her soul. Poems of love, of hope, of devotion. She had kept these poems hidden for so long. She did not even know they were still there, or if she knew, she did not expect he could read them so easily. But he read them. And let her read his too. There were poems of longing in his soul as well as pain and resilience.

The destiny. He's really ruthless.

A second more or less and the worst could have happened.

But it was accurate. And she felt herself reborn.

The world stopped at that moment, until it seemed to freeze. Everything around them became a blur of faces, sounds, gestures ... They were catapulted into a parallel universe. And there they remained.

Where were they anyway? Who were they? How did they get there?

So many questions. No answers.

She broke the contact of her eyes and rested her head on the shaft of his neck, letting one of her hands slip back into the back of the head and the other around his shoulders. He buried his face in her neck, sucking in her sweet, delicate scent. So many feelings, so many sensations, so many things, unforeseen and oppressive events.

Hours. Minutes. Decades. Centuries.

How long were they there? It didn't matter. Reality struck aggressively and acrimoniously against the pair as a harsh, agonizing voice addressed them.

"I believe you can release my fiancee, Cooper."

It was at this moment that Sheldon knew how it felt to have his heart plucked from his chest.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Hi everyone!**

 **Thanks for reading my fic. I'm sorry,I know it's been a long time, but I promisse to be back soon.**

 **Please let me know what you think about this chapter.**

 **Se you soon!**


	6. Chapter VI

**I know, it's been a long time. I won't get started on the why I didn't update all this time. Just that I'm really sorry!**

 **Hope this chapter is worth your wait,** **although is short...**

* * *

 **CHAPTER VI**

* * *

If there was one thing that Sheldon did not expect, it was certainly to be taken by surprise at that moment with that sequence of words that would bring down his castle of hopes with as much violence and ease as if it were made of sand. The world started to spin around him and he felt his legs weaken, which caused him to gently put Amy on the floor before he was unable to hold her.

"Fiancee?" He asked incredulously, alternating his gaze between Amy and Kripke waiting for some explanation.

Kripke had a smile on his face like someone who had just hit the target without much effort. That smile made the anger build up inside Sheldon to a point that even he didn't know he was capable of feeling.

However, when looking at Amy the only thing he could see in her stunned look was bewilderment. As if she could hardly believe her eyes. As if she couldn't assimilate the events. He hadn't blamed her, but even he wasn't sure what was going on there. No answer came. What caused his anxiety to increase one level with every second that passed without a plausible explanation.

"Can you explain what you mean, Kripke?" Sheldon ordered exasperated.

The smile that Kripke kept on his face grew even more, making Sheldon's heart squeeze inside his chest, causing a pain he had never felt before, it was not a physical thing, therefore difficult to identify, but it caused him a terrible distress.

"Don't you want to tell him, dear?" Kripke asked Amy, wrapping his arms around her, making her dodge slightly, to no avail.

Sheldon looked at her again and what he saw in her eyes made his whole body shudder at the sensation of failure in all of his systems, as if his blood had stopped in his veins and the air was suddenly taken from his lungs.

She was afraid. In panic.

She was sad. Unhappy...

And there was something more in her eyes, however he had been unable to conceive of that feeling. It was something he had never seen in her eyes. They used to always be so full of light, and now the light had gone completely, leaving only darkness. Darkness that made him shiver down to the last hair.

Sheldon stared at her, trying to detect any reaction that might give her away. She opened and closed her mouth several times, but not a coherent sound had come out of it. She went pale. With a lot of effort the words were stuttered.

"S-Mr. Cooper" she started the sentence in an excessively formal way for both of them, which made Sheldon uncomfortable "Mr. Kripke and I, we..." she swallowed, seeming to be digesting her own words, "we are... committed. He must ask for my hand and the engagement will be made official soon."

The bomb was dropped, and he couldn't even hear its tic-tac before it exploded and took the floor with it at Sheldon's feet.

He was falling, falling, falling...

An endless fall that would take him to the bottom of the wells. With no hope of leaving. Where there would only be darkness, without even a light. A limbo. An emptiness. Full of nothing and everything at the same time. Where sadness, anguish and depression would take over, and he would not be able to get rid of them.

"But how?". Sheldon asked.

"Why. What a silly question, Cooper," Kripke replied mockingly. "You certainly know all the social criteria used for an engagement to be made, and that love is the main one. Both my dear Amy, and I saw conveniences in this marriage. But the main thing, Cooper," he looked at Amy and stroked her face, which caused disgust in Sheldon, and in Amy too, "we are hopelessly in love".

From Amy's obviously negative reaction, Sheldon concluded that the last thing there was love. Let alone any admiration for both parties.

He looked at Kripke again, and there was something in his manner that spoke of his nervousness. However, his look indicated challenge, at that moment he understood exactly what was happening. The smell of blackmail was in the air, and something said it would not be easy to undo them. But everyone has a weakness and Kripke would be no different.

Sheldon then decided to play his game. And then find out what was actually going on.

He already had a plan in mind.

"I see. Well, I wish the couple the best." Sarcasm dripped like poison from his voice.

"Thanks". Kripke replied.

"Well, now if you'll excuse me." Sheldon said heading towards the stairs and leaving a bewildered Amy behind.

As obvious as the situation was, it was inevitable for Sheldon not to feel his heart heavy. The thought, the simple notion of losing Amy to a jerk like Kripke, was too painful. Not so much for him, but because Amy was extremely disgusted with him. She would never be happy and it hurt his heart more than anything.

Walking through the corridors of the Institute, he noticed how plundered the building was, it looks like it hadn't been painted in years. Later on he noticed broken doors and windows. The need for a renovation of the building was evident.

He went to the rectory room where he would meet his godfather.

* * *

"You were lucky this time, but you won't get rid of me Fowler." Kripke said, tightening his grip on Amy's arm tightly before releasing her and going down a corridor, leaving her with only her thoughts.

Reality slammed against her in that instant.

Sheldon was back.

Tears began to run lightly down her entire face. And the despair was intense. She had never felt such desperation before. Not even when he was gone had she felt so lost, so groundless. She knew there was no escape. Her fate, though sad, was set. Although she wanted to run, she knew she couldn't. She would never be happy knowing that her father had lost the presidency of the Institute because of her.

She had already made her choice. She would rather live her life miserably than risk the happiness of her family and Sheldon.

Although her heart burned in despair. She knew she had made the right choice.

Choice.

She wanted so badly at that moment that her father forbade her to do what she was about to do. It would be so much easier.

So much simpler.

But life is not an easy thing, nobody had never, ever said that it would be. It was foolish to believe in fairy tales and she knew it. There was nothing to save her from her fate.

The only thing left was to lock yourself in the library and forget about all the problems. As she always did. Even if the books were not being for consoling at the time, let alone distraction. It was useless to try, even for a few hours, to forget about Sheldon Cooper. And how much she still missed him. It seemed surreal that he was back. And all the feelings that it evoked within her. From love to hurt, for having rejected her letters all this time and now appearing as if nothing had happened.

How he had changed. How much more handsome he was. So more attractive. No doubt even smarter than before.

But she no longer knew who he was. It was so strange that he was once his best friend. He had been her one and only love. And who was she trying to fool? She knew she still loved him with all her strength, even more than before. A year without exchanging correspondence had done nothing but make her dig deeper for his presence. His smell. His touch.

She was a woman now. And she understood all the dimensions of that love... Although she was still a virgin.

Penny and Bernadette, however, had explained more things to her than she wanted to know...

And yes, she wanted him, like a woman wants a man.

That, however, was beyond her reach and she knew that if she weren't his, she would never be anyone else's.

As she flipped through the pages of the book she had chosen, in that hidden area of the library, she thought of everything and nothing.

She was as confused as she never was.

It was already night when she got up, adjusted her dress and decided it was time to go home.

When Amy got home, she almost fell back when Pam came to announce who would be staying there for the next few weeks.

Deep down, she was aware that this would happen. Her father would never leave Sheldon in a hotel or anywhere else. Even after what happened to the letters...

In fact, this was a story that she needed to find out about.

But she was not in the mood for such discussions at that time. All she wanted to do was lie down and forget that day even existed.

First there was that stupid attempt by Kripke to kiss her. Just the thought of such an act made her stomach turn over.

And then, that reunion...

And suddenly her world was upside down.

Midnight was approaching while Amy lay on her back on her bed, unable to close her eyes. Insomnia had caught up with her that night. Her mind insisted on staying connected, no matter how much she wanted to sleep so as not to think about the events of that day. Everything was so confusing. And her heart ached for knowing that even now that he was close, Sheldon was never so far away.

It was surreal that he was there. For five years she had dreamed of the moment when he would return and now her feelings were a mixture of joy, anguish, sadness... She did not know that it was possible to feel so much at once.

She didn't want... She couldn't get her hopes up with that reunion. She knew.

However, part of her yearned to feel that unique and pleasantly agonizing heat again. Only he, Sheldon, was able to provoke such reactions in her emotional and in her body.

She didn't even know, until that afternoon, that it was possible to feel that way. So weak and so strong at the same time. That feeling ignited parts of her body that made her blush.

How to deal with such feelings? All she wanted to do was run into his arms. It didn't matter Kripke, or the Institute, or anything else... However, she knew she couldn't.

And there was also the history of the letters. She was confused about what had happened in that regard.

He seemed to be as shaken by her presence, by the reunion, as she was. She didn't know him anymore. But his eyes... spoke so much. She could get lost in that blue expanse. She would happily lose herself.

Living with him in the same house would be an impossible mission.

* * *

 **Hope you liked!**

 **Stay safe, please!**


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